DE RENOUVELER j 

A CHERBOURG 
LES MERVEILLES 
DE L'ECYPTE, 
J'AVA IS ELEVE 
DE J A DANS LA 
I MER MA PYRAMIDE. 
' J'AURAlS EU AUSS 
j MON LAC MCERIS. 
AOUT. . 




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d-fcn, of me E^o, ^eo«L ^ ^ 

— ■-^EON Ht. at Cherbourg- 



Speech of tlie Emperor 



itzeirsx.lSSS. 



Geo,.™ -Maxvwm^, iomfo" ,1 . uacc 



(EDIPUS ON THE SPHINX 

f 

OF THE 

NINETEENTH CENTURY: 

OR, 

POLITICO -POLEMICAL RIDDLES 
INTERPRETED. 



BY 

AN OLD-CLOTHES PHILOSOPHER. 

" As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the 
report of Tyre :" Isaiah xxiii, 5. 



LONDON: 
GEORGE MANWARING, 
8, KING WILLIAM STREET, WEST STRAND. 

MDCCCLXII. 

[The right of translation is reserved.'] 



PREFACE. 



Since the day when the researches of Niebuhr opened men's 
eyes to the glaring falsehoods embalmed in the mummyfied 
tomes of ancient history, those who had looked hopefully for the 
time to come, when the despotism of canonised errors should be 
undermined and overthrown, beheld the bright rays of hope burst- 
ing through the leaden skies of stolid pedantry, and rejoiced to 
behold another of the many branches of the great tree of know- 
ledge exhibiting signs of regenerated life. They saw the living 
sap ascending from the newly upturned soil, into which the 
enthusiasm of genius had the courage to dig deeply its delving 
spade, regardless of the jeers and scoffs of Dr. Dryasdust, and 
brother Professors, from beneath whose ancient wigs of erroneous 
judgment there fell heavy perspiration drops of horror and amaze- 
ment, at beholding this great sceptical hobgoblin so ruthlessly 
demolishing dearly hugged prepossessions, and overthrowing time- 
hallowed castles of classic erudition. Just as Marshal Blucher, 
surveying modern Nineveh from the summit of its great cathedral 
dome, spoke prophetically, " My God, what a city for a sack ! " so, 
too, the Pope, and his cardinals of ancient history foresaw the 
plunder and ruin of their great citadel of traditional myths. 

And as with history, the biography of human aggregates, so, in 
like fashion, in the lesser biographies of society's individual atoms, 



IV PREFACE. 

the same momentous change was predicted ; and truly, day by day, 
those doubts, that are the pioneers of progress, serve to disclose 
the fact, that the traditional histories of the world's chief actors 
are mainly legacies of misapprehensions. For never has a true 
representative of divine manhood acted the part assigned to him, 
but forthwith there has sprung up a legion of book makers to use 
his name as a clothes peg, whereon to hang their philosophic and 
theistic creeds of seedy, worn-out rags. 

Should any coming missionary of social progress desire to 
embody his ideas in written speech, and thus deprive these old 
clothesmen of their mystifying task, how may he expect any 
encouragement, or look for aid in elevating his small and solitary 
voice above the mighty din of the age's fierce contention, where 
in the war of Titans, smothering by voluminous scientific talk, 
threatens a rash intruder into the arena of trained gladiatorial 
combats ? 

Well, the thing that has been done, may be achieved hereafter, 
and that which now is caricatured in history shall be faithfully 
represented in the future, for to human perception, by means of 
phenomenal revelation of hidden realities, nothing is absolutely 
new under the sun. 

Then back to ancient history, O, Dryasdust, — back to your 
sacred calendaring of the past, and to your diaries of the dead, to 
unriddle the sphinx of the living, the present, and the future, if you 
can. But alas, your oracles are dumb, because your precious 
chronicles are of myths, and thus your present is darkness at mid- 
day, and the future a miserable blank. 

Go back to the Noachian deluge. But there a mighty structure 
of theistical and mythical babblement interposes, and dreadful 
confusion of palavering precludes all hope of your ever unravelling 
the tangled thread of those mighty events in the world's history, 
that were acted before this great babbling work began. 



PREFACE. 



V 



In those antediluvian eras, before that mighty flood which 
drowned historical records, together with every monument of 
ancient philosophy and civilization in the waters of oblivion, there 
existed giants upon this earth ; and so also in these last days, 
the great champions in the ranks of philosophy, in military, 
political, and commercial science, are men of gigantic mental 
calibre. 

For some years past the world has resounded with the din of 
preparation for a mighty combat, and now, as the hour of conflict 
approaches, the noise is heard of hammers ringing upon the 
armour that is being riveted together, and the bugles are sounding 
and awakening the reverberating echoes in the chill morning air, 
summoning the opposing hosts to fall into the serried ranks of 
battle array. 

For empire of the whole world it is that this struggle is 
preparing, and all the laboratories of destructive art have been 
exhausted to furnish weapons of slaughter for the combatants. 
Wars, and rumours of wars ; here a nation gathering itself up 
like a crouching panther, to make a swift and deadly spring upon 
a neighbouring nation and there a people preparing to exterminate 
another race ; federated states separating into hostile camps. 
Diplomacy at its wits' end ; intrigues, conspiracies, lies, frauds, and 
juggleries hopping about over the length and breadth of the earth 
like the swarming hosts of slimy frogs that plagued the land of 
Egypt ; statesmen moving every force on earth to forward the 
unprincipled schemes of crowned despots, prepared to deluge the 
world in oceans of blood for the sake of terratorial aggrandisement, 
thinly veiled by hypocritical reverence for some purely speculative 
religious creed, such are the signs of these critical times. What 
do they indicate ? And who, or what is coming ? 

A war of conflicting interests, a war of contending principles 
and opinions, culminating into a vast religious war, the most 



vi PREFACE. 

dreadful and destructive that ever darkened the skies with the 
reek of bloodshed, fire, and blinding smoke. For to the judgment- 
seat of the power of brute might over right, mankind have ever 
appealed, and to this judgment so chosen, they may, and indeed 
must necessarily go. 

The wars of the ancient Egyptians, we are told, were pre- 
eminently religious wars. So, ultimately, are all great wars, for 
no struggle reaches the final stage, of mutual exterminating frensy, 
until it has received the blessings and curses of its rival priests. 

During many ages, the thinking, no less than the mere palaver- 
ing world, has been divided into two hostile camps. On the one 
side are arrayed the champions of sacerdotal super, or preter 
naturalism, who have contended doggedly for what they designate 
orthodox theism, or transcendental spiritualism of the absolute 
and unconditioned ; and on the opposite side are to be found 
marshalled, the men who maintain that material cosmology, the 
philosophy of the relative and conditioned, is alone available for 
human progress. If the spiritualists had confined their tactics to 
the employment of their postulated purely immaterial or moral 
(so called) force, the contest must, long ere this, have been decided ; 
but it is notorious that sacerdotal theism has never hesitated to 
make free use of physical or material force, and the Goliahs in the 
priest's spiritual battalions are armed with the best weapons that 
military science can invent. 

Now, as Goliah, the prototype of sacerdotal support, fell, not 
by the sword, but by a stone slung into his brain, so in like 
manner must modern spiritualism fall, by aiming the stone of the 
shepherd at the brain, or mind of man himself, that is, at that 
false philosophy of the human mind which underlies all theological 
controversies, where the definite, finite, or fostal mind of man is 
assumed to be homogeneous with that of the great invisible and 
hidden source of life. 



PREFACE. 



Vll 



Man, as yet in the main a mere phenomenal and ephemeral 
modification of one absolute existence, presents his claim to 
immortality upon the ground of sovereignty, or as a being 
elevated above the conditioned arrangements of natural processes 
or law in the universe ; but how can he demonstrate and support 
this supernatural system, if left to the unaided influence of this 
hypothesized theistical power. 

As man judges, so ought he and so will he most certainly be 
judged in turn, for judgment invokes judgment, as surely as 
vibratory motion generates similar vibrations. What man abides 
by the unnatural separation of moral, spiritual, or immaterial from 
physical or material force in dealing with his fellow man ? No 
one carries out in practice this absurd division, for invariably, 
crimes that are called moral are not punished, except by resorting 
to material measures to supplement moral retributive, or reme- 
dial justice. And yet, in spite of man's own judgment of his 
fellow, he presumes rashly to dictate to his postulated Deity, what 
justice should be meted out to him, saying practically, u You must 
measure out to me, if your scales are really properly adjusted for 
good and evil, moral punishment for my moral or theological 
crimes, and physical pain for material offences." 

Cain resorted to a material argument to support his spiritualism, 
and excommunicated his dear brother from the pale of his church's 
salvation by knocking out his brains. In a theistical controversy, 
Cain butchered his brother for heresy and infidelity, because Cain 
was a champion of orthodox theism, and therefore denied his 
opponent's right to differ from him. 

Mark well, however, how this erudite doctor of theology, this 
brave and puissant champion of orthodox spiritualism, deprecates 
the like material application of punitive measures to his precious 
self. This valiant priest insists upon some preternatural adjust- 
ment for his criminal act. He dreads that judgment of life for 



viii PREFACE. 

life, which he called down upon himself from his fellow man, by 
his own judicial sentence, and the murderer is permitted to crawl 
out the span of his miserable life, for Deity does not butcher in 
retaliation, as mankind pray, and would insist upon his doing. 

From Cain's excommunication, and slaughter of the heretic 
Abel in a theistic controversy, down to the present hour, this 
mortal antagonism between rival systems of faith has continued 
and cannot be settled to man's satisfaction without the shedding of 
blood. 

What else can be expected ? Supplement a creed, embodying 
in a material form of words a Manichean war of good and evil 
immaterial principles, with a sanguinary code of laws for vindic- 
tive punishment of evil deeds, and this sacrificial system of blood 
shedding will make man's blood be drawn by his fellow until it 
runs in streams, in rivers and oceans, and until man's own judg- 
ment has been consummated in the final extermination of his 
species. Oh! man's inhumanity to his fellow man ! and all in 
praise, all in honour, all for the glory of God, of course ! Alas for 
the destiny of humanity, if, in this coming contest, sacerdotalism 
should succeed fn getting the upper hand. 



WILLIAM BRADE. 

London, December •, 1861. 



CONTENTS. 



— — * 

CHAPTER I 

THEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE, 

PAGE. 

Nineteen hundred years ago, a brief introduction ... ... 1 

The persecution of Jesus of Nazareth ... ... ... 2 

Bigotry and tyranny of the Jewish clergy and elders ... ... 3 

Jesus of Nazareth's onslaught on the Jewish theologians of his day 4 
Dr. Channing upon ecclesiastical despotism ... ... ... 5 

Lynch law of the priests ... ... ... ... 6 

Sectarian denial of Deity's omnipresence ... ... ... 7 

Fetichism of modern theology ... ... ... ... 8 

Idolatry as the worship of " self " ... ... ... ... 9 

Baron Bunsen on idolatry as "self" worship ... ... 10 

Hieroglyphic portrait of Satan in the Apocalypse ... ... 11 

Antediluvian civilization ... ... ... ... 12 

Stagnation of self- regardful minds ... ... ... ... 13 

CHAPTER II. 

CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 

Sacerdotalism and cosmism compared and contrasted ... ... 14 

Cosmical hypothesis of creation by generation ... ... 15 

Universal existence, the offspring by conjugal union of two eternal 

self- existent and unconditioned entities ... ... ... 16 

Numeration of dual personality employed by the Greeks ... ... 17 

Bifold character of causation ... ... ... ... 18 

Imponderable force and matter phenomenally revealed as one nature... 19 

Time, a conditioned process of generated force ... ... 20 

Imponderable force and matter not separable as vulgarly postulated ... 21 

The human testimony of Cogito Ego sum no proof of absolute existence 22 

Human cognition necessarily limited to material parentage ... ... 23 

Hypothesis of cosmical regeneration ... ... ... 24 

Postulated superiority of the female element in the cosmos ... 25 

Theory of creation by fabrication or artificial construction ... 26 

The Paleyan " design" argument, and Mr. T. Carlyle's criticism thereon 27 

The cosmos as generated by ^conjugation of two eternal entities ... 28 

The paternity of an infinite Deity veiled in material processes ... 29 

The spirit of divine revelation from the Hebrew canonical Scriptures 30 



X 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE III. 

THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 

PAGE 

The chief corner stone in sacerdotalism ... ... ... 31 

Mr. Isaac Taylor upon " immaterialism " in his "World of Mind" 32 

The Hebrew scriptures, declared by Isaiah, to be effectually sealed up 33 

The "six days" of creative formation ... ... ... 34. 

Sacerdotalism the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden . . ... 35 

Adam the first revelation of Christ in man ... ... ... 36 

Genesis and geology; theological misinterpretation ... ... 37 

The " Tower of Babel," an edifice constructed of books ... 38 

The Rev. Henry Christmas' lectures on " Science and Revealed 

Religion" ... ... ... ... ... 39 

Religious novels as a means of propagating theistical knowledge ... 40 

The Bible attempted to be made a text book for science ... 41 

Postulated two express acts of creation ... ... ... ... 42 

Enigma of the " 144 hours" of formative creation ... ... 43 

The ladder of immortality ... ... ... ... ... 44 

Enigma of the "serpent " seducer of Adam and Eve in paradise 45 

The serpent's humiliation ... ... ... .. ... 46 

Enterpretation of the "serpent" riddle in the book of Ecclesiastes 47 

Lucifer, symbolical of mankind, not of evil spirits ... ... 48 

The two trees in the garden of Eden ... ... ... 49 

Oriental tradition and rabbinical theological meanderings ... ... 50 

The tree of "knowledge of good and evil" in paradise ... 51 

The curse pronounced upon the fallen angels as " forfeited to fate" 

after breach of ordained conditions of existence ... ... 52 

Sentence of final discomforture suspended over the serpent's head ... 53 
Chronological discrepancies respecting the date of man's appearance 

on earth ... ... ... ... ... 54 

Professor Baden Powell's " Unity of Worlds and Philosophy of 

Creation" ... ... ... ... ... ... 55 

Professor Powell's idea of atheism as an absolute negation of Deity 56 

The development hypotheses ... ... ... ... ... 57 

Extinction and preservation of species by means of " natural selection " 58 

CHAPTEE IV. 

PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 

The infinite and absolute beyond the conditions of human cognition , 59 

The late Baron Bunsen on the tendency of Spinoza's philosophy 60 
Infinite attributes of Deity, a problem for solution in " logical 

probabilities " ... ... ... ... ... 61 

Sir William Hamilton versus the Aristotlean system of logic ... 62 

The infinite Deity cognizable only as related to a definite and 

conditioned personal existence ... .. ... ... 63 



CONTENTS. 



xi 



PAGE. 

Fallacies of the philosophy of absolute and unconditioned spiritualism 64 
Dr. Morell upon " im materialism " as the basis of self- existence ... 65 
The ruin of ancient Babylon the antitype of the fall of immaterialism 66 
The " Ecclesiastes" (ascribed to King Solomon) on the condition of 

man and beast ... ... ... ... ... 67 

Sacerdotal commentary upon the " sense " of the old Hebrew Scriptures 68 
The doctrine of man's mortality from the Psalms of king David and 

others ... ... ... ... ... ... 69 

Marked antithesis in the "Psalms" between the mode of existence 

and the destiny of " sons of God" and " sons of men" ... 70 
Condition of man in the cosmos, according to Job and the Hebrew 

prophets ... ... ... ... ... 71 

Dr. Channing on difficulties arising from the " peculiar dialect of 

the Greek Bible " ... ... ... ... ... 72 

Debate between Jesus Christ and Rabbi Nicodemus upon regeneration 73 
Reference made by Jesus of Nazareth to preceding revelations of 

Christ in man .. ... ... ... ... ... 74 

Perversion of Bible doctrines in theological glossaries of Scripture 

terms ... ... ... ... ... ... 75 

Marked resemblance between the time of Jesus' appearance and present 

day ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 76 

Jesus' denunciation of Jewish theologians, an echo of the vituperative 

voice of antecedent prophets ... ... ... ... 77 

Declaration of certain apostles respecting man's final destiny ... 78 
Theological contradiction involved in the dogmas of future life and 

death ... ... ... ... ... ... 79 

Isaiah's contradiction of the postulated homogeneity of the minds of 

God and man ... ... ... ... ... 80 

The " cause " of volition in man not an intelligence resembling human 

cerebration ... ... ... ... ... 81 

Human cerebration a reflex action of cosmical gestation ... ... 82 

Man's knowledge confined to the phenomenal revelation of material 

conditions ... ... ... ... ... ... 83 

CHAPTEE V. 

NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 

Ordinary controversy conducted as an argument from a foregone 

conclusion ... ... ... ... ... ... 84 

Dr. Channing's idea of the influence and uses of religion ... ... 85 

Mr. G. J. Holyoake's comments on Professor Newman's book, "The 

Soul, her sorrows and aspirations" ... ... ... 86 

Declaration of Jesus Christ that he was " subject" to the omnipotence 

of paternal law... ... ... ... ... ... 87 

Significance of Jesus' agony in Gethsemane and his subsequent 

martyrdom ... ... ... ... ... ... 88 



xii CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Mr. Isaac Taylor's essay on " Logic in Theology " ... ... 89 

Mr. Taylor's remarks on the tendency of Jonathan Edward's essay on 

freewill ... ... ... ... ... ... 90 

Inscrutability urged as an excuse for gratuitous assumptions in 

theology ... ... ... ... ... ... 91 

Mr, G. J. Holyoake's defence of atheism in his "trial of theism" ... 92 
Pleading of an anonymous necessarian philosopher ... ... 93 

Mr. Buckle on the phenomena of human volition in his " History of 

Civilization" ... ... ... ... ... 94 

Hypothesized existence of two distinct types of civilization in the 

world ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 

Arbitrary distinction conventionally drawn between morality and 

intelligence ... ... ... ... ... 96 

Knowledge attainable only by the study of, and obedience to, the law 

of natural conditions ... ... ... ... 97 

Progress in civilization dependant on the power of religion to regene- 
rate social science ... ... ... ... ... 98 

Stagnation of the orient due to human disregard of material and 

calculable conditions ... ... ... ... 99 

Attempted confutation of Mr. Buckle's doctrine by the Rev. R. B. 

Drummond ... ... ... ... ... 100 

Precarious basis of theology derived from human self- consciousness 

of good and evil .. ... ... ... ... 101 

Scepticism of theism due to the practical negation of Deity in current 

theologies ... ... ... ... ... ... 102 

Human consciousness a state of cerebration and not a self-existing 

entity ... ... ... ... ... ... 103 

Mr. Buckle's objection to the deliverances of consciousness as liable 

to self-contradiction ... ... ... ... 104 

Remarkable instance of the concentration of morals and intelligence 

in a single individual ... ... ... ... 105 

Dr. Moore on mental insanity resulting from self- concentration of 

thought ... .. ... ... ... ... 106 

Sir William Hamilton on the trustworthiness of human consciousness 107 
The essential interdependence of every entity the reason for rejecting 

seZ/'-witness ... ... ... ... ... ... 108 

Insanity caused by the centripetal bias of human self- regarding 

cogitation ... ... ... ... ... ... 109 

Human cerebration not derived from an intuitional fountain of thought 110 
Professor Baden Powell on the "intuition" hypothesis as a retro- 
gression in science ... ... ... ... ... Ill 

Mental abstraction the unconscious subtraction of material properties 112 
The London Statistical Society on the comparative values of human 

and cosmical causation ... ... ... ... ... 113 

Equality of numbers in statistics useful for estimating relative values 

only ... ... ... ... ... ... 114 

The relative value of human volition proved to occupy a secondary 

position in natural phenomena ... ... ... ... 115 



CONTENTS. 



Xlll 



CHAPTEE VI. 

PHASES OP CIVILIZED LIFE. 

PAGE. 

Free will hypothesized as heing the true chaos in social life ... 116 

Hieroglyphic emblems of the cavalry in death's army from the 

apocalypse ... ... ... ... ... ... 117. 

The public execution of criminals considered as a reformatory process 118 
Sacerdotal administration of extreme unction to condemned malefactors 119 
Suicides regarded as symptomatic of wide- spread mental insanity 120 
Religion in swaddling clothes; weekly assemblies of the " select " ... 121 
The education discord ; want of harmony in denominational music 1 22 
The murderers of mind — Death's dragoons on the white and pale 

horses of low literature and medical quackery ... ... 123 

A " black " business ; slaughter of " darkies " in accordance with the 

white man's law ... ... ... ... ... 124 

Singular method of accelerating the progress of social science at the 

antipodes ... ... ... ... ... 125 

Proceedings of "white emigrants" from Europe volunteering to 

propagate civilized notions in foreign parts ... ... 126 

The schoolmaster wanted abroad ... ... ... ... 127 

The Sabbath question — A judicial sentence against secularism ... 128 
An "earnest" writer upon the fiercely debated subject of theological 

miracles ... ... ... ... ... ... 129 

The use and influence of miracles— Interpositions of Deity " made to 

order" ... ... ... ... ... ... 130 

Resignation to the patient endurance of adversity part of the true 

worship of Deity ... ... ... ... ... 131 

Charge of death's pale horsed dragoons — The drink demon ... 132 

Awful sequel to a week's "spree " — A full supper of "horrors" 133 
The moral persuasion of physical force and the main liquor law 

considered ... ... ... ... ... 134 

Social anomalies — The case of Miss Bailey no ghost story but a 

miserable fact ... ... ... ... ... 135 

Cases in the police court — Ridentem quanquam dicere verum quid vetat ? 136 
Holloway's pills — Tremendous medical revolution " looming in the 

future" ... ... ... ... ... 137 

Spare cash importuning "needy knife grinders" to bag it — Loan 

advertise irents ... ... ... ... 138 

Distressing plethoric condition of capitalists at the antipodes of 

England ... ... ... ... ... 139 

The Hon. James Wilson upon the wide spread ignorance of political 

economy ... ... ... ... ... 140 

Dr. Channing's pertinent interrogation addressed to "busting up" 

traders ... ... ... ... ... 141 

Death's black horsed dragoons — Netheism in commercial communities 142 
Social disorganization resulting from the baneful influence of a greedy 

plutocracy ... ... ... ... ... 143 



xiv CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

President James Buchanan's warning to "lobbying" politicians in 1859 144 

Republican institutions no antidote for the bane of selfish demagogism 145 
Love of your neighbour practically suppressed by the introduction of 

feudal or genuine " caste " divisions into society ... ... 146 

Nightmare on the European mind during the mediaeval age ... 147 
The revolution of the sixteenth century — Reformers smothered by a 

disgraceful compromise ... ... ... ... 148 

Degradation of social science by the adulteration of false religion ... 149 
The statute law of Britain not founded upon the axioms of Christ's 

teaching ... ... ... ... ... ... 150 

"Striking likeness" of Judge Blackstone in his wig, painted by 

Mr. Thomas Hood ... ... ... ... ... 151 

Hieroglyphical picture of the established church of England ... 152 

The great tribulation coming ... ... ... ... 153 

Singular theological discoveries by a Chinese professor ... 154 

King James I and his toadies ... ... ... ... 155 

Canonization of a queen in China from imperfect sources of information 156 

A debt of gratitude not due by the British nation to the Stuarts 157 
A state paper mislaid, and consequently not available for further 

reference ... ... ... ... ... ... 158 

An original claimant for the title " Defender of the Faith" ... 159 

CHAPTER VII. 

FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 

Mr. Pugin's idea of the "great test" of architectural beauty ... 160 

Church decoration said to be limited to symbolizing Christian verities 161 

Classification of ecclesiastical ornaments ... .. ... 162 

Evidence of the existence of fetichism in European sacerdotalism 163 
Ludicrous and indecent images found in buildings dedicated to the 

worship of God ... ... ... ... 164 

An ariist's lamentation over the ruin effected by puritanic iconoclasts 165 

Essay upon ten peculiar advantages derived from the use of images 166 
Resemblance traceable between Oriental and European sacerdotal 

symbols ... ... ... ... ... 167 

Decayed condition of European sacerdotalism too far advanced for 

proper "post mortem " criticism ... ... ... 168 

Cardinal Bellarmine's idea of the doctrine of the trinity as merely a 

matter of " opinion " ... ... ... ... 169 

The Rev. James White upon the rise and progress of Christianity in 

Eastern Europe ... ... ... ... 170 

Mr. Simon Fish' s pamphlet from Gray' s Inn upon priestly domination 171 

Supplication of beggars presented to His Majesty King Henry VIII 172 
Impression supposed to have been made on Henry VIII's mind by 

Fish's pamphlet ... ... ... ... 173 

Spoliation of church property no assistance in eradicating pauperism 174 
The characteristics of Great Britain in 1858, the year of Donati's 

"comet!" ... ... ... ... ... ... 175 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 

Persistence of sacerdotal ists in immortalizing the power of evil ... 176 
Dr. Channirig's theory of "sin" testifying to the truth of the soul's 

immortality ... ... ... ... ... 177 

Hypothesis of evil as " designed" hy Deity to constitute human 

responsibility ... ... ... ... ... 178 

Mind confusing consequence of a sustained course of sacerdotal study 179 
Dr. Channing on matter cognized by the human mind only by its 

relation to imponderable force ... ... ... ... 180 

Theory of pain as due to the peculiar condition of the earth's gestating 

labour in the universe ... ... ... ... 181 

Professor Smee on the monogenetic origin of " all force" ... 182 

A striking illustration of theological ignorance of true science ... 183 

Prof. Faraday upon gravitation as only one form of omnipresent force 184 
Current idea of gravitation tending to a negation of omnipresent vitality 1 85 
The incessant mutation of material aggregates, the present boundary 

of human cognition ... ... ... ... ... 186 

Revelation of Deity recorded in the Bible as limited to negative and 

relative phenomena ... ... .. . . ... 187 

Moses' declaration to the Israelites respecting the attributes of Deity 188 
Office of mediator between God and man that of a self-sacrificing priest 189 
The existence of sacerdotal evil propounded to Job for his consolation 190 
Erudite exegesis of theological responsibility from the youngest of 

Job's visitors ... ... ... .. .. 191 

The attributes of Deity as defined by Elihu ... ... 192 

Job's persistent refusal to entertain the notion of the existence of 

sacerdotal evil, and theism based thereon ... ... ... 193 

Job's reproach of his comforting friends for their ignorance of true 

ordained conditions of existence ... ... ... ... 194 

Necessarian and utilitarian philosophy not a negation of true morality 195 
Hypothesis of punishment for sin as inherent in the act of committing 

a breach of ordained conditions of life ... ... ... 196 

Significance of the required purification of man by the baptisms of 

fire and water cleansing ... ... ... ... 197 

Self- existence a circle spreading flux of vital force, not a cause pro- 
ceeding in one straight line ... ... ... ... 198 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE FALSE PROPHETS. 

Dr. Cumming's interpretation of Hebrew poetic prognostication, in 

his work " The Great Tribulation Coming" ... ... 199 

Mahomet the Iconoclast not necessarily the predicted incarnation of 

false prophecy ... ... ... ... ... 200 

Biblical discrepancies recommended for clearing up mental difficulties 201 

Singular method of overcoming the confusion that results from inad- 
vertent thought ... ... ... ... ... 202 



xvi CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Personality of Deity not revealed as limited to a tripartite existence 203 

Advantages derivable from taking sides with the " majority" ... 204 
Search for the fountain of "original sin," not so successful in Europe 

as in China ... ... ... ... ... ... 205 

Sacerdotal definition of omnipotence, an axiom in muscular Christianity 206 

Dr. Cumming's interpretation of the phrase, "a wonderful deed" 207 

Definition of the word "Law" in theological vocabularies ... 208 

Martin F. Tupper on the human mind, in his " Proverbial Philosophy" 209 

Clerical misconception of the spirit of ancient Hebrew poesy ... 210 

Human perception blunted by the assumed cognition of the absolute 211 

The " Ecclesiastes" upon the postulated freedom of human volition 212 

Dr. Cumming's definition of the meaning of "conscientious religion" 213 

The immaterialist's departmental theory of human cerebration ... 214 

Divine secret of nature uttered in a "whisper" to Elijah the prophet 215 

Singular theory of the ultimate resurrection of the dead ... 216 

Perversion of Biblical doctrine respecting death as the reward of sin 217 

Infinite attributes of Deity as revised by modern commentators ... 218 
Significance of Christ's victory over Satan from an evangelical point 

ofview ... ... ... ... ... ... 219 

A theologian solemnly sitting in judgment upon Deity . . 220 
Hypothesized "material" advantage derivable from a physical view of 

the resurrection of the dead ... ... ... ... 221 

Sacerdotal assumption of the self-existence of the immaterial human soul 222 

A modern commentary upon the sense of the Pauline Epistles ... 223 

Novel office discovered for the employment of Jesus of Nazareth ... 224 
Cosmical and sacerdotal theories of regeneration compared and 

contrasted ... ... ... ... ... ... 225 

Apostle Paul's expressed hope of immortality in his Philippian Epistle 226 

Gratuitous assumption of two resurrections from the dead ... 227 

Sacerdotal hypothesis of an immaterial resurrection ... ... 228 

Dr. Cumming's interpretation of Zechariah's prophecy ... 229 

Blundering of theologians respecting the final Messiah ... ... 230 

The advent of the last Messiah predicted to be like the visit of a thief 

in the dead of the night ... ... ... ... 231 

CHAPTEE X. 

MODERN TYRE. 

Dr. Cumming's vaticination respecting Great Britain ... ... 232 

The ruin of Tyre as foretold by the Hebrew seer Isaiah ... 233 
A command concerning a "merchant" empire, to destroy its 

strongholds ... ... ... ... ... 234 

The prophet Jeremiah's warning to the citizens of modern Babylon 235 
The testimony of Ezekiel and other prophets respecting the commer- 
cial empire of the descendants of Ephraim ... ... 236 

The marvels of Egypt, a riddle interpreted ... ... 237 

The Sphinx — religious wars of the ancient Egyptians ... ... 238 

A search for historical precedents — The capture of ancient Nineveh 

and Babylon ... ... ... ... ... 239 



CONTENTS. XVII 

PAGE. 

False interpreters of prophecy denounced by the Hebrew seers ... 240 
The ruin of modern Nineveh as seen in vision by Nahum the 

Elkoshite ... ... ... ... ... ... 241 

Capture and division of the spoil found in the Great Lions' den ... 242 

The fall of modern Tyre depicted by ancient Hebrew prophets ... 243 
No Scriptural prophecy within the ordinary limited condition of 

human perception ... ... ... ... ... 244 

The centripetal bias of human cogitation its own snare ... 245 



CHAPTEE XT. 

ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 

Oriental and European historical records sunk in the waters of Lethe 246 

China hypothesized as the theatre of some profoundly mysterious event 247 
Stagnation of the Orient consequent upon the fall of the first witnesses 

of Deity upon earth ... ... ... ... ... 248 

Abbe Hue's Journal of Chinese Travels — John Chinaman not to be 

perverted ... ... ... ... ... ... 249 

Significance of the titles " King of kings," and " Mother of all living" 250 

Slavery of women a corner stone in the structure of Chinese society 251 
Social misery resulting from the conservation of law and order without 

progress ... ... ... ... ... ... 252 

The title of "The anointed Son of Heaven," not one gratuitously 

assumed by man independent of divine warrant ... ... 253 

Palestine the land chosen to be made sacred for the planting of the 

tree of life ... ... ... ... ... ... 254 

The mighty deluge of Oriental sacerdotalism ... ... 255 

Biography of Sakya adulterated with absurd and lying legends ... 256 
Form of the ancient Trinity of relationship connecting man with Deity 257 
Prevailing modes of sacerdotal and philosophic opinions in the East 258 
Buddhism, as conventionally believed, nothing but the mongrel adapta- 
tion of an older creed ... ... ... ... 259 

Sakya, the founder of a mendicant propagandism, not the author of 

the absurdities and falsehoods ascribed to him ... ... 260 

Probable significance of "Nibban" in Sakya's system ... 261 

Plato rather indebted to Taosze than to Socrates for his immaterial 

mysticism ... ... ... ... ... ... 2G2 

Prevalent theologies all leavened with the effete traditions of a great 

primeval astronomical sacerdotalism ... ... ... 263 

Abbe Hue upon Chinese civilization and its mysterious stagnation 264 

Charge of atheism preferred by Hue against a secular magistrate ... 265 
Manners and Customs of the Chinese — An emperor's caution to his 

subjects ... ... ... ... ... ... 266 

Method of communicating with Deity adopted by a Chinese emperor 267 
Deplorable scepticism of the Chinese as to the efficacy of European 

practices ... ... ... ... ... ... 268 

Shipwreck of European sacerdotalism upon sunken rock of the dead 269 

Ominous development of the military power in Christendom ... 270 



xviii 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 

PAGE. 

Jewish tradition recommended by theologians for overcoming Bible 

difficulties ... ... ... ... ... ... 271 

Dr. Edersheim on the doctrines of the rabbins in his history of the Jews 272 
Jewish transcendental mysticism hypothesized as being wholly of 

native growth ... ... ... ... ... 273 

Influence of Persian and Babylonian mythologies on Jewish theology 274 
Theistic system of Philo an amalgamation of Oriental and Hebrew 

tradition ... ... ... ... ... ... 275 

Intolerant and bigoted sectarianism of the Jewish Rabbins ... 276 
Cosmology of the Kabbalistic books, the " Sepher Jezirah" and the 

"Sohar" ... ... ... ... ... ... 277 

Incontestible evidence of Oriental mythology in the Kabbalistic books 278 

Some additional samples of Kabbalistic cosmology ... ... 279 

The materiality of self- existence postulated as essentially evil 280 
Remarkable evidence of the vague and contradictory ideas of the 

immaterialists ... ... .. ... ... 281 

P„abbinical ignorance of all axioms in true cosmical science ... 282 
Jewish traditional doctrine respecting the relation of the material 

personality of the divine "Logos" to God and man ... 283 

Degradation of healthy sentiment by the bastard traditions of the priests 284 

Ludicrous distortion of facts in natural philosophy in Jewish Talmudism 285 

Glorification of self- elected saints ... ... ... ... 286 

Cosmical process of life, growth, and development, not homogeneous 

with the "modus operandi" of sacerdotal ordinances ... 287 

CHAPTER XIII. 

MESSIANIC. 

The crowns of glory worn by Christ, according to the Spurgeonic gospel 288 
Reserve force of the preachers of the gospel of hell fire ... ... 289 

Proper settlement of theological accounts for work assumed to be done 

in Christ's service ... ... ... ... ... 290 

Modem idea of Satan's discomfiture owing to Christ smashing his head 291 
The final Messiah predicted to come from Ephraim of Joseph ... 292 
Testimony borne by previous revelations of Christ in man to the 

character and office of the final Messiah ... ... ... 293 

Evidence respecting the "anointed servant" of Deity from the ancient 

Hebrew psalms ... ... ... ... ... 294 

Ultimate gathering together into one nation of the world wide dispersed 

descendants of Israel ... ... ... ... 295 

Additional evidence forthcoming from Psalms of king David and others 296 
Job's trial and witness of Deity considered as a predictive as well as 

an historical narrative ... ... ... ... 297 

The physician upon whom Deity has laid the iniquities of all the brethren 298 



CONTENTS. 



xix 



PAGE. 

The return of the Prodigal Son ... ... ... 299 

Advent of the Messenger of Judgment from the East . . ... 300 

The Bible a sealed testament to the jarring sects of the present age 301 

Protestantism the reign of anarchical demagogism ... ... 302 

Attribute of Deity as the great " Self-sacrificer " ... ... 303 

The religion of service and active duty as opposed to the idolatry of 

self-worship ... ... ... ... ••• 304 

Examples of vital faith selected for approval and " precedent by Jesus 

of Nazareth ... ... — ••• ••• 305 

Christian faith not negative but supplementary to political economy 306 
Faith as the gift of Deity synonymous with the omnipresent process 

of life and growth ... ... ... ... ••• 307 

Conventional definition of faith illustrated by Sir T. Browne in his 

"Religio Medici" ... ... ... 308 

The educational process of faith in disciplining, chastening, and 

quickening the human mind ... ... ... ... 309 

A Miltonian idea of the basis of heroism and royal self-government 310 

CHAPTEE XIV. 

SACERDOTAL ATONEMENT. 

Dr. Sharpe on the constitution of man ... ... ... 311 

Vague and contradictory ideas vulgarly entertained of cosmical 

phenomena ... ... ... ... ... 312 

The vital principle of a living spirit not solely man's prerogative 313 
The sacerdotal theory of vicarious atonement a postulate of man's own 

invention ... ... ... ... ... ... 314 

Human sacrifices, once a world wide institution, the effect of terror and 

superstition ... ... ... ... ... 315 

Conflicting opinions of modern sectarian sacerdotalism ... 316 

Inherited and preconceived prejudices, the stumbling-block of Jewish 

theologians ... ... ... ... ... 317 

Private interpretation by Jesus Christ of his own metaphorical and 

symbolical teaching ... ... ... ... ... 318 

The Mosaic ordinances and semi- sacerdotal economy abrogated by 

Jesus of Nazareth ... ... ... ... ... 319 

Jesus' martyrdom the abolition of capital punishment for man's sin 320 

CHAPTER XV. 

MOSES AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. 

Infantile condition of the Hebrew mind at the period of Moses' mission 321 

Sanguinary character of ancient Egyptian sacerdotal systems . . 322 

The Sinaitic code no part of the eternal word of self-existence ... 323 

Draconic nature of Moses' system adapted to childish intelligences ... 324 
Moses' compromise compared and contrasted with Jesus of Nazareth's 

teaching ... ... ... ... ... ... 325. 



XX 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Theological errors arising from man's misconception respecting to his 

true relative position in the cosmos ... ... ... 326 

Jesus' attack upon the stronghold of sacerdotal evil by aiming at the 

human mind ... ... ... ... 327 

Man's theistic system of good and evil demolished by Jesus ... 328 

Conventional ideas respecting Deity's punishment of sinners contro- 
verted by Jesus ... ... ... ... ... 329 

Jesus' mission repudiated by the self- constituted Jewish saints 330 

Similarity in the signs of the times between Jesus' day and the present 

century ... ... ... ... ... ... 331 

Denunciation of theological error as pertinent in 1861 as in Jesus' day 332 

CHAPTEE XVI. 

THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 

Observations on Dr. Browne's " Religio Medici," by Sir Kenelm Digby 333 

An illustration of the art of " fudging' ' the solution of difficult problems 334 

Singular inconsistency and general vagueness in Sir T. Browne's ideas 335 

Dr. Browne's mystical ideas respecting creation and man's immortality 336 

Editorial observations on Sir T. Browne's profitless lucubrations ... 337 

Absurd speculation of the ancient Jewish Kabbalists and theologians 338 

Conflict between sacerdotalism and cosmism respecting man's origin 339 

Developmentary hypothesis of the "Vestiges of Creation" ... 340 

An attempt to decipher nature's great diary of the past ... 341 

Hypothesis of cometary influence in " quickening" planetary growth 342 
Enquiry for lost astrological science, for which modern planetology is 

not a proper substitute ... ... ... ... 343 

Professor Geo. Wilson's remarks on astral influence in his " Excur- 
sus in Technology" ... ... ... ... ... 344 

Extinction, preservation, and regeneration of species in the womb of 

cosmical life and growth ... ... ... ... 345 

A hieroglyphic picture of the bottomless pit ... ... 346 

CHAPTEE XVII 

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

Conventional theological ideas satirized by Dean Swift ... ... 347 

The arbitration of the sword: man's chosen j udgment seat ... 348 
The Son of Man and final witness of Deity not necessarily Jesus of 

Nazareth ... ... ... ... ... ... 349 

Jesus' declaration respecting the Son of Man sent to execute judgment 350 

The eternity of both salvation and condemnation ... ... 351 

Immortality the inheritance of the fully born, not of premature births 352 

The divine judicial law not the sacerdotal tree of good and evil ... 353 

The fate of the dead according to Jesus of Nazareth's declaration 354 
Ephemeral character of man's existence, as the initial type of a^rand 

hierarchy of organized intelligences ... ... ... 355 

A hieroglyphic picture of the final judgment ... ... 356 



CEDIPUS 

ON THE 

SPHINX OF THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY. 



CHAPTER I. 



THEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE. 



Nearly nineteen hundred years ago a foul and cowardly 
murder was, by priestly intrigue fermenting the passions 
and prejudices of an ignorant mob, perpetrated on the body 
of Jesus of Nazareth, a man in whom they saw only a 
friendless, unlearned, and poverty-stricken carpenter's son, 
who, neglecting the conventional rites and formulas of these 
priests and rulers of his nation, came boldly forward, as one 
having divine authority, to teach the people a more rational 
and vital faith. But these priests, who ministered in a 
temple built by human hands, wherein was said to be the mys- 
terious presence of the most high God, did, notwithstanding 
the command, " Thou shalt do no murder," think that they 
offered their God acceptable sacrifice in exterminating heresy ; 
whilst they contrived to serve themselves in upholding vested 
interests, by fanning into flame the smouldering passions of 
the multitude they so miserably misled, and thus through 
them to work on the fears of the civil magistrate, and bring 
about the legalized assassination of this poor apostle of human 
progress, because they hated, as much as they feared, his 
undaunted courage in exposing their time-serving manoeuvres, 
their hypocrisy, their bigotry, their ignorance, and loathsome 
cant. 



B 



2 



THEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE. 



The divine prophet's main charge against these priests and 
law expounders was, that, instead of leading their flocks as 
faithful shepherds on the road to the pastures of eternal life, 
they had dragged them down, as blind misleaders of the 
blind, into the ditch of superstition and the darkness of pur- 
blind mysticism ; whereby it came to pass that these people 
were unable to perceive the vital truths of divine revelation, 
and, like sheep lost in the barren and trackless wilderness of 
theology, they were left an easy prey to every ravenous 
monster of superstition that crept into the flock. 

So well had these Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees ful- 
filled their self-appointed task, and by human tradition made 
the natural laws of the Eternal at enmity with their creeds, 
that one choice sect were avowed unbelievers, and denied the 
doctrines of the resurrection and eternal life; and another 
sect, if possible still more select than these, had, by much 
display of public excitation of piety, well advertized alms- 
giving, fasting, and nauseous cant, proclaimed the peculiar 
sanctity of their particular and exclusively elect or saintly 
persons. But whatever little doctrinal differences might 
reasonably be looked for in a state church, bound together 
by the articles and rubric of Mosaic ritual, one thing at all 
events they were all agreed to join in, and that was, to cling 
with unshaken tenacity to their vested interests in place and 
pension, waiting patiently for their Messiah's coming for 
further promotion and proportionate pay. 

The Messiah comes, but in place of smiling approval of 
these hungry clergy, he exhausts every form of indignant 
remonstrance, and every expression of unmitigated scorn, 
abhorrence, and contempt, for their false teaching, their 
miserable perversion of truth to accommodate some peculiar 
tenet of their sects, their insolent bigotry, pride, hypocrisy, 
and their blindly selfish concentration of active duty in un- 
tiring adherence to self-interest, practically making deities 
of their appetites, and thus manifesting their utter ignorance 
of the very first axioms of self-sacrifice and duty to others 
in vital faith. 

And how consistently the belly-worship of these time- 



PERSECUTION OF JESUS OF NAZARETH. 3 

serving clergy was carried out ! Were they invited to any 
social gatherings — it was to the highest seats of honour, to 
the uppermost rooms at entertainments that they elbowed 
their way, to attract all possible admiration from staring, 
gaping, social inferiors, who must swallow their humbler 
fare in lower places, if they can get there ; if not, they may 
admire, at respectful distances, while munching their crusts 
outside. 

The theologically untrained people heard this messenger 
from the Eternal gladly, we are told. But the doctors and 
proctors of the sacred shasters were roused into hostile 
action, fearing dangerous innovation, with subversion of 
their authority, and deprivation of prerogatives and perqui- 
sites. So they sought continually to entangle him in his 
discourse, and accuse him of heretical teaching, infidelity, 
impiety, and downright blasphemy. Seeing, or claiming to 
have seen, absolute truth, they were blinded and saw not — 
claiming to hear, and possess infallible oracles, they were 
deaf and heard not ; yet they say repeatedly, with marvellous 
confidence, " We be not born of fornication, (like the non- 
" elect,) we have one Father, who is God." 

But they repudiated, with horror, the same claim put for- 
ward by this poor Jesus of Nazareth to be a Son of God, 
and that, because he spoke positively and authoritatively, not 
theologically and metaphorically. He claimed his title 
naturally de jure et de facto, and this was blasphemy to 
their minds. He knocked the traditional scaffolding of their 
church from under these clergy's feet, by shewing that the 
Jews were not necessarily sons of the Eternal Father 
because descendants of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob. He told them plainly that their forefathers, the 
descendants of these sons of God, had perished; they had 
indeed eaten manna, or angels' food, in the wilderness, but 
notwithstanding this privilege, they were dead, and as God is 
the Father of the living, and not of the dead, therefore 
their dead forefathers could not have been children of God, 
and thus their title deeds to immortality were defective, and 
their claim to eternal life was vitiated in consequence ! 

b 2 



4 



TIIEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE. 



How these priests, scribes, and doctors of theology, lashed 
their pious emotions into frenzy ! How they gnashed their 
sacred teeth ! They had hoisted up the Mosaic ritual as a 
ladder to reach high heaven, and after all, this grand sacer- 
dotal system, they were told, was but a compromise, was but 
a school for weaning infantile minds from mother's pap! 
And this fellow, this ignoramus, this vulgar journeyman 
carpenter, this shaver of wood and planer into chips, this 
reckless demagogue, has bearded theologians hoary with age, 
and nearly blind, and paralyzed, with hard reading of 
shasters, talmuds, and halachas. He dares to contradict 
the priests' infallible conclusions, to ask in turn most perplex- 
ing questions, which for dear life they cannot logically answer; 
and more, he exposes their ignorance, derides their impudence, 
denounces their pride, their intolerance, their hollow and hypo- 
critical pretences. But they cannot, if they would, ignore 
his presence, for his authority to preach and prophesy is 
supported by superhuman power, and his wonderful deeds, 
his quiet zeal, his energy, his restless and remorseless on- 
slaughts upon sacerdotal impotence are too well and too 
widely circulated throughout the land to be rashly sneered 
at, or recklessly ridden down. These men hear of the dead 
being raised, and in dire alarm, Pharisee, Sadducee, priest, 
and scribe, both high and low, assemble in council, patch up 
their leaky schismatic boat, hoist a new sail, and so combin e 
for a time to exterminate the foe who threatens to raise a 
whirlwind that will cause their church to founder bodily. 

"What do we?" gasp they in terror and amazement. 
" This fellow will gain the public over to his secularism, our 
" entire sacerdotalism is endangered, we shall lose our priestly 
" prerogatives and privileges, the Romans will eventually 
cc succeed in setting the democratic and secular element in our 
" nation over our sacred crowns. Our theocracy, and with it 
" our aristocracy, will be swamped; the temporal and spiritual 
" power, once effectually severed, can never be rejoined, and 
" our reign is for ever at an end." 

One of the most eloquent of rhetoricians and essayists, 
Dr. Channing, says of sacerdotal tyranny : — 



DR. CHANNING ON ECCLESIASTICAL DESPOTISM. 5 



" No power is so rapidly accumulated or so dreadfully 
" abused, as ecclesiastical power. 

" All usurpation on men's understandings begets in him 
" who exercises it, a dread and resistance of the truth which 
" threatens its subversion, hence ministers of religion have 
" so often fallen behind the age, and been the chief foes of 
" the master spirits who have improved the world, they 
" have felt their power totter at the tread of an independent 
" thinker ; by a kind of instinct, they have fought against 
" the light before which the shades of superstition were 
" vanishing, and have received their punishment in the 
" darkness and degradation of their own minds. 

" The same enslaving power may grow up under Protes- 
" tant as under Romanist institutions. The Protestant 
" minister, whilst disclaiming Papal pretensions, is able, if so 
" minded, to build up a spiritual despotism. 

" Ecclesiastical power has been exerted most conspicuously 
" and perniciously by two classes of men, the priest or 
" minister of religion, and the civil ruler, making men slaves 
" and machines, shackling their faculties, and degrading 
" them into tools of others' wills and passions. The 
" influence of political and religious institutions has been 
" to make a man abject in mind, fearful, servile, and a 
" mechanical repeater of opinions which he dares not try, 
u and a contributor of sweat, toil, and blood to governments 
" which never dreamed of the general weal as their only 
" legitimate end." 

And pertinent to the present duty of endeavouring to 
rescue the significance of Jesus' life and actions from the 
distortions and pervertions of the sacerdotal class, who have 
usurped the christian name to supplement their schemes, 
I quote Dr. Channing again, where he says — 

" The true conspiracy before which tyranny is to fall, is 
" that of virtuous, elevated minds, consecrating themselves 
" to the work of awakening in men's minds a consciousness 
" of the rights, powers, and purposes of human nature, 
" opposing to force the heroism of intellect, conscience, and 
" the spirit of self-sacrifice. 



6 



THEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE. 



" The great enemies to society are not found in its poorer 
" ranks; the mass may indeed be used as tools, but the 
" stirring and guiding powers of insurrection are found 

" above? 

And so it was in the days when the Jewish race was 
under the Roman yoke, and Pontius Pilate was, by their 
commission, the governor of J ucl&a ; a priestly party and 
their supporters conspired to destroy the man who threatened 
to overturn their entire sacerdotal church. But the history 
of this persecution is too well known to require any com- 
ment. A high priest administers an oath to the victim he 
was predetermined to condemn as a perjurer, and then with 
pious horror rends his sacred clothes. He hands this son of 
the carpenter over to his myrmidons, to be mangled on the 
cross. Subornation of perjury has failed, but what of that ? 
" Has not the vulgar fellow in our sacred presence uttered 
" shocking blasphemy ? Away with him from off the earth !" 
So indeed says this priest, but the civil magistrate must be 
made the executioner, for your saintly clergy never take 
human life ; no, indeed, but they can excommunicate, accuse, 
and condemn to death in the hearing of the mob ; so public 
opinion, in the name of morality and justice, seizes this 
clerically damned one ; and of old time it was the same as 
now, rebellion with fiery-faced, red-handed insurrection rears 
its hydra-head, and barricades spring up, whereat the civil 
rulers pause — they hesitate, listen, remonstrate, threaten, 
get alarmed, vacillate, and yield. So the man denounced as 
an heretic and infidel by the priests, is slaughtered according 
to law, and society is saved. 

Thus peace is preserved, thus law and order is supported, 
thus heresy is suppressed, thus institutions and establish- 
ments hoary with age are conserved, and religious convictions 
protected from dangerous innovations, thus balances of power 
civil and religious are upheld, and thus the interests of truth 
are actively and zealously served by its legally appointed 
servants ! 

Truth ! Everything progressing but what is called Religion ; 
all else journeying on, but knowledge of life eternal, all else 



SECTARIAN NEGATIONS OF DEITY. 



7 



ever changing, ever adapting itself to wants of humanity, 
but this unhappy subject ! — selected for death, to be coffined 
down to mummydom, kept in glass cases for show, not to be 
handled, not to be roughly breathed upon, not to be vulgarly 
discussed, never to be proved, never to be tried., never to be 
made robust by vigorous exercise, but always to go hopping 
on crutches, propped in go-carts, perambulated along in bath 
chairs by doctors of theology, proctors, scribes, and expounders 
of traditional shasters, — who cannot see wood for trees, who 
know so much theology that they cannot perceive rational 
truth when presented to them, who are ever losing general 
and enlarged views in particular methods, and labouring to 
give mathematical definitions to immaterial assumptions, 
dogmatizing when uncertain, and shuffling whenever detected, 
unceasingly labouring in the Sisyphus-like task of localizing, 
and circumbscribing the Infinite and Absolute ; losing broad 
principles in trumpery details of rites and formulas, and 
practically making the Omnipresent Deity who Jills the 
mighty expanse of the infinite universe, a local, partial, 
sectarian, national, finite, and narrow-minded being like 
themselves, — so that men came to quarrel with such a 
Deity as this, to take him to task for not listening to prayers 
for miraculous interpositions. They argue, that he does not 
reward and punish effectually, that his dealings are as unjust 
as they are inexpliciable, that they never get the blessings of 
health and untold wealth that they work so hard for. Their 
grape vines are miserable trees, and the fruit that their fore- 
fathers had eaten so patiently is susceptible of much 
improvement, indeed not to shape the point of complaint too 
fine for comprehension, the grapes are positively sour, and 3 as 
a necessary consequence, the teeth of the present generation 
are set on edge. 

As it was in time bygone when over Palestine's then 
flowering and fertile land, Pontius Pilate was Rome's com- 
missioned ruler, when cowardly, despotic, and bigoted priests 
trembled for their sway, their church, their perquisites, and 
their pay, so now in these last days, the self-same abomination 
lifts high in air its proud and domineering head ; but let us 



8 



THEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE. 



hope and pray that, after this final and fast-coming desperate 
struggle for supremacy it may sink and rise again no more. 

What sacerdotal theologians and traditional Bible inter- 
preters did in the way of smothering the truths of eternal 
peace, and Deity's relation to, and treatment of his creatures, 
when this Pilate was made Jesus' executioner by the 
alarmed and exasperated Jewish priests, the same class of 
men is still engaged in doing, as indeed they have been 
employed in achieving since Jesus' death, and that is, 
misinterpreting by the dim and religious glow of the farthing 
rushlight of human and fallible tradition, the plain truths of 
rational faith, erecting unsurmountable barriers between their 
system of biblical sacerdotalism, and the plainest and most 
readily to be comprehended phenomena of natural processes. 
Thus they make the revelation of truth in the ancient 
Hebrew, as well as later Greek scriptures, and the principles 
of rational belief, with real science, radically, and irrecon- 
cilably opposed. Their creeds, based upon contranaturalism, 
are necessarily opposed to all rational belief, because they 
ask for subjection of mind to what it cannot know, and 
because their faith is the acceptance of what is antagonist to 
all sensible perception of natural phenomena. It is not 
extension of natural sense, nor even a forestalling of what 
may be coming in the future, and not yet developed, — but 
such faith is actually a belief in the practicability of magical 
performances, and thus its Deity, or Deities, are contra- 
natural beings, — sacerdotalism is fetichism; its prayer is 
incantation, and its devotion is blind and haphazard neglect 
of self-reliant action. The priests are magicians and the 
worst foes that science has ever known; its votaries are 
gamblers upon lucky and unlucky chances of miracles and 
omens. Sacerdotalism and cosmism are now, as they have 
ever been, sworn foes ; the struggle between them resembles 
Palafox, and the defenders of Saragossa's resistance to 
French invasion — " War to the knife." The faith, or trust of 
natural pietists, is the childlike trust in the unalterable and 
inherently necessary love of a paternarpower in the universe, 
who has said for their guidance, and consolation— " Man 



ATHEISM OF PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. 



9 



" shall not live by (perishable) bread alone, but every word 
" that proceeds from the mouth of God." 

Where is the brave and reliant faith that the Sons of God 
display in the present state of money-worshipping Christen- 
dom? — where their self-denying vow of poverty, or 
obedience ? — where obedience like Noah's ; calm trust like 
Daniel's, or patient submission to inevitable misfortune like 
Job's? There is no such belief in a Father's care as this, 
for conventional faith is the mere metaphysical acceptation of 
certain theological or ethical doctrines, which the more they 
are opposed to common and healthy sense, are regarded as 
higher proofs of what is called faith, because it is antagonistic 
to rational belief and knowledge, and for no other intelli- 
gible reason. 

The faith described and acted on by Jesus of Nazareth, 
and other children of the primary paternal Deity in the 
universe, is that of subordinating, and neglecting care for 
the wants and luxuries of civilization, as constituting 
nursery pap for sucking infants ; and seeking for, and relying 
upon the support of that vital pulsation of electric force that 
is the bread of the true sons of the Eternal Father. 

True faith, like a ship's anchor and cable, is unsafe until it 
has been tried ; men call themselves christians because they 
inherited certain opinions, just as they by entail come 
into possession of real property. But had they been 
in Japan, they would infallibly have been Buddhists; if 
reared in Turkey, they would have been Mahommedans ; if 
in Africa, fetichers, and votaries of Mumbo Jumbo; or if 
natives of Australia, they would have been intuitively con- 
vinced of the omnipotence of debil, debil. 

Mankind are as truly and thoroughly idolaters in these so 
called christian nations of Europe, as ever they are known 
now to have been when they kotoued to Nebuchadnezzar's 
Idol of Gold. 

Idolatry, as defined in the Bible, means worship, or 
service of selfishness, or self-will. This self-will is politely 
termed free will in modern theologies, and freedom from the 
obedience to conditional arrangements necessitated in the 



10 



THEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE. 



universe, is the instinct of prayer to idols, for antagonism of 
the self-will to the demanded sacrifice of self on the altar of 
dutiful submission to the eternal prepurposer is praying to 
idols. Emerson says, very pertinently, that "prayer is a 
" disease of the will." Mankind naturally shrink from the 
pain of self sacrifice, and pray for special interpositions 
to help them to avoid unpleasant duties attended with pain 
or evil. 

Baron Bunsen in his work, " The Signs of the Times," 
says : — 

u Everything human is subject to conditions, nay divine 
<e truth itself, when applied to definite human relations, is 
" only true under conditions, and within the limits which 
u they draw around it, but man by reason of his egotism is 
" ever striving to get free of all conditions. Even the 
" greatest and most glorious human energy and might are 
(i forfeit to fate as conditioned, and go to destruction 
" when they try to become absolute, and as such think and 
" act. Thus the instinctive striving after unconditioned 
" expansion has its source, not in the God-appointed destiny 
" of humanity itself, but in the blindness of the selfish 
u element in our nature which desires to make the " me * 
" (egomet?) into the centre of all things, and inasmuch as the 
" natural self makes its own specific existence a centre, it 
" foolishly attempts to make that into an ultimate end which 
" is its true existence only in its conformity with the 
" collective arrangements of the universe. 

" The principle of intolerance is latent in every existing 
" religion, and in every religious body, by virtue of the self- 
" seeking principle in the natural man, but the divine deed 
" of redemption from selfishness is meant to set man free from 
<e the rule of this principle in his nature. 

" To appropriate what belongs to God is the very essence 
" of all selfishness, and the true fall of man, who would fain 
66 be master of goodness, of truth, and not their voluntary 
" servant. 

ei Nothing dies except from the absence of inward vital 
" energy, and everything perishes by reason of itself, namely, 



BARON BUNSEN ON IDOLATRY. 



II 



" by its own principle of self-seeking, which oversteps the 
te conditions of its existence through criminal arrogance, and 
" blind folly. There is nothing which has been created, and 
" subsists as an end in itself for its own sake, but every single 
" thing lives in relation to the whole, but that whole subsists 
" only by the free surrender of the individual for the com- 
(S mon good." 

Here Bunsen points to human self-will as the antagonist 
or Satan of the Eternal Pre-purposer, and the Bible says 
the same, namely that the imperfection and selfishness of the 
human mind, in its foetal stage of growth, is at enmity with, 
or opposed to, the will of the Almighty ; consequently, Satan 
is the self, or freewill of man, striving for absolute and 
unconditioned existence as a Grod in itself, not dependent 
upon, but a rebel against, the inter-dependent arrangements 
of the universe. 

The symbolical picture of Satan painted in the Revelation of 
St. John, is that of a scarlet, or blood-clothed harlot, typical of 
the mind, seated upon the seven cervical vertebra? or neck- 
bones of a beast, or the animal man, which is said to be ten 
powered, that is, ten membered, or fingered, and that the 
whole creature, mind and body, constitute one for everlasting 
annihilation. In another version of the same enigma, it is 
plainly enough stated that the number of this beast is the 
number of man, or 666. This is not the particular 
number of any specialized individual, but the generalized 
one, as naturalists might number a particular species in one 
of their catalogues. Thus, if the mammalian type be 
included in the numbers running from one to 666, then man 
is the highest in their list, or else the mammalian class is 
exhausted at 665, and man is the initial type of another 
species commencing at 666. 

To limit or specialize this enigmatical number to Papal 
Rome, is to stultify one's common sense, for it is said 
that the idolatry of selfishness, or self-will, called 
free will by modern theologians, is extended as the 
dominant power of an ambitious queen over the extreme 
length and breadth of the earth. It is a very far fetched 



12 



THEOLOGICAL INTOLERANCE. 



attempt at solving this riddle to say that the Church of 
Rome is the special object of this denunciatory picture, for 
it is matter of history that Papal Rome never dominated over 
all nations, peoples, and tribes, as this harlot idol is said to 
have done and will continue doing. The woman, scarlet or 
blood-clothed, is the brain or mind of self- worshipping or 
self-serving man and woman, and the beast is the body of 
this voluntary centre of the animal ; altogether constituting 
the Satan, or antagonist of the divine will, so graphically 
portrayed by Baron Bunsen, in his " Signs of the Times," 
just quoted. 

This ten-membered, blood-sustained creature, man, was in 
times bygone an idolater of his body; but now, much too 
well educated for such gross prostrations before sacerdotal 
systems, he is latterly a worshipper of his intellect as immor- 
tal, and evidences, in the social disorganization of civilization, 
the chaos that his darling moralism of free will so powerfully 
contributes to keep seething and bubbling up in lurid fires 
of war and insurrections. Man, that aforetime hoisted 
his heroes, wine-swilling, licentious, bloodthirsty warriors, 
into heaven and immortality — once a sacrificer of his own 
and his children's blood to propitiate the vengeance of his 
postulated powers of evil — in all past time a perverse, petu- 
lant, and peevish worshipper of his own darling will, appears, 
even in these last days, as bad an idolater as ever; singing 
his loudest paeans, and waving gaudiest and brightest star- 
spangled banners in the van of that marvellous march of 
intellect and civilization, assumedly so superior to aught 
antecedent to the perished records submerged in those waters 
of oblivion that constituted the flood, as if no awful lesson of 
stereotyped mental life could be read in Chinese life, a 
history lost in antiquity, part of that civilization that was 
hoary with age when the first messengers, or angels of God, 
appeared upon the world's great stage, and after a brief but 
tragic play fell to rise no more. Mankind were worshipping 
in those days, as they do even now, commercial and social 
prosperity, the sciences, the arts, and the luxurious refine- 
ments of life. They speculated hopefully of the future, for 



SELF-WILL THE ANTAGONIST OF DEITY. 13 



that ultimate civilization that they, one day not very distant, 
hoped to reach, when suddenly they are petrified, and vege- 
tate dust-begotten creatures to turn at length to dust again. 
Merrily laughing, they continue cooking their savoury 
morsels, washing them down with draughts of the rarest 
wines, just as the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah did, till 
they stumbled all together into the brimstone pit of eternal 
death, fancying themselves all the while immortals and 
gods, and therein vastly superior to the perishing orang 
outangs. 



14 



CHAPTER II. 

CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 

Sacerdotalism and science, or the philosophy of cosmism, 
have ever been, are now, and will continue to be, radically 
and irreconcilably opposed to the end of human time. 

For the first is the philosophy of the absolute, and the 
second is that progressing study of the relative which neces- 
sarily denies the assumed knowledge of the absolute; and 
thus it is that the two studies can no more be reconciled, 
than oil and water can be intermixed. 

Sacerdotalism postulates the existence of absolute beings, 
who contend in an interminable war of good and evil 
principles; whereas cosmism, which is the philosophy of 
naturalism, defers the solution of this occult problem of pain 
and sorrow, called evil, in the universe, to the day of 
judgment. 

Sacerdotalism is the effete philosophy of the super or 
contra-natural ; whereas science is the philosophy of natural 
phenomena. 

The former, which is the teaching of priestcraft, assumes 
that the material universe has been created by fiat out of 
nothing. In flat contradiction of this dogma, cosmism 
maintains that the universal existence is eternal, and neither 
was, nor could possibly have been, created or fabricated by 
simple fiat out of nothing. 

Sacerdotalism contends, that this postulated creation of 
the material universe by fiat out of nothing, means creation 
by construction or fabrication, as though it was the work of 



SACERDOTALISM VERSUS COSMISM. 



15 



an artificer, who designed everything, but had actually no 
materials to work with. 

The science of cosmism, on the other hand, maintains that 
creation means generation, and that the hypotheses of con- 
struction, and fabrication by a designer, are haphazard 
conjectures that are calculated to mislead. 

Science asserts, that creation is only another term for 
production by generation, in other words, that creation is the 
union of two eternal self-existent entities, generating a 
third, and intermediate one, which is nature, self-existent in 
relation, — and in opposition to that logical deduction from 
theological assumptions, that the processes of nature are 
mere mechanical operations, science maintains that all natural 
phenomena are one sustained process of gestation. 

Sacerdotalism pretends to have attained, and makes a 
great parade of, an absolute knowledge of the great primary 
paternal element of and in the universe ; whereas science 
contends that this spiritual Father is hidden behind the 
impenetrable veil of material and maternal processes, or 
natural gestation. 

In opposition to sacerdotal theology, which assumes the 
knowledge of the absolute, science maintains and demon- 
strates that all known natural processes are phenomenal, and 
relative, and exist as conditioned, that is, that they exist as 
the condition of some unknown cause, and therefore as all 
natural phenomena must be relative to something in which 
they exist that preceded these modes of conditional or 
phenomenal being, they cannot be absolute per se, but are 
revelations of the mutual relationship subsisting between 
two primary entities, which exist uncaused, uncreated, and 
unbegotten, and consequently unconditioned, unlimited, and 
infinite, both in respect of time and space. 

The word that personifies the conception of self-existence 
is the present participle, Being, of the verb To Be, and the 
first personality of this great ever-present word is indicated 
by the duality of two conjoined in one emphatic revelation, 
" I am." These two words, so linked, represent the likeness 
of the Universal Being which generates in the mind the 



16 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



conviction of self- existence, per se, that shuts out all possi- 
bility of any preceding existence. In this comprehensive 
and exhaustive enunciation of vitality in the being of " I am," 
we find unity, but since all cognised existence consists of 
both unity and multiplicity, then, unless the infinity of unity 
is tacitly allowed to be limited by multiplicity in every 
direction, we are forced to consider the problem as to how 
plurality can exist without limiting and destroying unity ; 
and further, how unity, per se, can generate that conception 
of multiplicity in unity which we retain in the mind as 
inherent in the constitution of universal existence. 

Sacerdotal systems of ancient days have assumed, appa- 
rently gratuitously, that one solitary, self-existent " I am," 
created a second, " thou art," out of nothing ; and then these 
two proceeded to create a third, and finally, that this triad 
combined together, or conjugated the construction or fabri- 
cation of plurality : at all events, they segregated themselves 
into indefinite multiplicity. Both singularly and plurally, 
personification has always stopped short at a third, and 
after this third, definition spreads out without specialization. 
The grand mistake, however, consists in supposing that one 
entity could conjugate with another, when there was no such 
second in existence. That two entities should by their 
conjugation, or conjugal union, generate a third is quite 
conceivable, but it is not conceivable that the first person 
singular of the ever-present tense of Being, or To Be, 
indicated by "I am," should produce the second person, 
" thou art " either out of itself alone or from nothing ; for 
the first hypothesis does not indicate any second personality 
at all, because it amounts after all to nothing but a flux, or 
continuation of the first entity "I am," and leaving no material 
difference to denote any conception supposed to be begotten 
by the words " thou art." Again, the first could not have 
created the second out of nothing, as something different 
from itself, becanse entities possessing nothing in common 
with each other cannot beget any conception of mutual 
relationship, nor can they cause or affect one another. 

To say that the first person singular of the verb To Be, 



BIFOLD PROCESS OF CAUSATION. 



17 



(or as the word in its participle denotes "Being") consists 
of three co-existences, or plurality of persons, who have 
jointly produced indefinite multiplicity by their mutual 
co-operation, is really nothing but a profitless reiteration of a 
barren and thread-bare abstraction, which is impuissant to 
generate any logical idea in the mind. 

Socrates suggested that the enquiry shouldj be thus 
prosecuted. First of all find unity, in that find duality, (not 
a trinity,) then the trinity after the duality, in each triad 
find the fourth, and so proceed until the original unity is 
seen to possess unity, duality, trinity, and then indefinite 
plurality. Thus it follows that multiplicity is countable in 
triads resulting from a causative duality generating the third, 
and so conjugating plurality in logical sequence of time and 
space, indicated by number, tense, and mood ; substantives, 
and attributes, or adjectives, then fall in due order. The 
Greeks were not content with singular and plural, indicating 
unity and indefinite multiplicity ; they found a great duality 
the cementing link throughout nature, and they required a 
definite plurality between " I am one" and ( ' We are many ;" 
unity by itself cannot beget any conception of relation to 
plurality without the conjugation of duality; thus "I am" is 
related to "thou art? just as (t we are" is with "you are" by 
the definite dual link that is required to conjoin infinite unity 
with infinite indefinite plurality. Unity cannot conjugate by 
itself, there must be two entities to set up conjunction. 
Unity cannot divide itself into plurality of indefinite multi- 
plicity without some conjunctive process of cause and 
effect. 

If it is an error to skip from "I am" to "He is," leaving 
out the second person singular, equally is it wrong to skip 
from infinite unity to indefinite plurality, without first 
acknowledging the existence of definite duality between 
" I am," and " We are/' We two are one, is neither positively 
singular, nor is it absolutely plural, it is both singular and 
plural in its dual link, for it indicates that unity is in duality, 
as much as duality exists in unity, that is to say, it is unity 
of relationship, the two absolutes are to be conceived only as 

c 



18 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



one, only as they are related, not as they exist separable 
units. 

Every personality, number, mood, tense, participle of the 
word or verb to be, is known only as related to the primary 
self-existent duality of I am. And there is no conceivable 
relationship existing between the self-existing / am, and 
infinite multiplicity of personality in this being, except by 
generation; that is, except as mutually related to the primary 
duality of parental unity; the absolute and unconditioned 
entities being revealed as self-existent only in their 
relationship to the phenomenal existence of their offspring. 

Sacerdotal theism is that crude and effete system of 
immaterialism, which has, under the attractive banner of 
spiritualism, enlisted so many champions. This theism of 
preter-naturalism has animated the universe with a mind 
analagous to that of its own capricious character, and is 
blind to the glaring contradictions involved in the elimination 
of necessary sequence, from the domain of mental phenom- 
ena. The theory of one solitary First Cause, akin to human 
intelligence, overthrows by inference the primary axioms in 
natural philosophy ; where like causes produce like effects, 
and substitutes miraculous interpositions called creations, 
having relation to nothing but the mind's own assumptions of 
lawlessness, called free will. Science, or cosmism, maintains 
that cause in its absolute sense is bifold, and that natural 
processes of cause and effect are not results of creations 
out of nothing by the action of one great solitary existence. 
In support of this argument, as to the existence of bifold 
causation, it is contended that the whole of existence, or that 
immaterial and material universe comprehended under the 
popular phrase of everything, is not an effect of preceding 
cause, because it generates the concept of its being an un- 
caused and uncreated entity, in so far as that concept of 
existence involves the idea of no other preceding existence. 
Moreover, this material and immaterial universe conveys 
irresistibly the concept of unlimited existence, and thus it is 
that the whole universe is maintained to be a great eternal, 
uncaused, and uncreated existence, the concept of which per 



TWO UNCONDITIONED ENTITIES IN EXISTENCE. 19 



se precludes the possibility of any preceding existence, and 
because self-existent and eternal, it must be unlimited, 
both in respect of time and also of space. 

But notwithstanding this fact that the universe has 
generated the concept in the human mind of it being an 
unlimited material existence, shutting out the possibility of 
any preceding existence to create, construct, or design matter 
out of nothing, such concept of the eternity, and infinitude 
of material existence does not necessarily exclude the possi- 
bility and probability of another great entity, equally 
co-eternal, and self-existent, which the material duality may 
serve to veil, or only negatively to reveal. 

It must be conceded that the material universe is only 
relatively known ; for by the imponderable forces of matter 
only is its self-existence revealed ; and thus everything is 
revealed under conditions, that is, everything can only be 
known conditionally, as phenomenally related to causation 
that cannot be absolutely, that is, unconditionally known ; 
for causation is not of one, but of two self-existences, which 
have in their primary, uncaused, and unconditioned states, 
no power separately to affect human consciousness, nor to 
beget separately any concept therein, because only by their 
dual relationship has the universe of nature been generated, 
and that which has been for ever united, mind cannot arbi- 
trarily and wantonly divorce. 

Imponderable electro-magnetic force is by matter negatively 
revealed, as an uncaused, infinite self-existence per se, which 
involves the concept of no other preceding existence; but it is 
not necessarily such an entity as implies the impossibility of 
another uncaused and unlimited entity such as matter, which 
is, in its turn, equally negatively shewn by imponderable force 
to be eternal per se, shutting out the possibility of any 
preceding entity to have caused, created, or designed it. 

Neither of these two great self-existing entities could have 
preceded, or created, or caused the other, for together they 
beget the concept of both, being equally unlimited, equally 
self-existent in themselves, and thus, as eternal and infinite, 
possessing sufficient cause in its absolute sense to generate 

C 2 



20 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



by their union, that never ceasing stream of the necessary 
sequence of cause and effect manifested in the uniform 
operation of natural processes. 

Concept of idea in mind is the reflex action of a gestating 
process, and this is not the operation of one, but of two 
eternal entities, that have, by their duality, begotten such 
concept, to be born in the lapse of predestined time. 

All force acts in time ; and therefore is deduced the axiom 
that time determines the form, or mode, or disposition of all 
force ; but this time is as much material as it is immaterial, 
for imponderable force, per se, remains eternal for ever, and 
so does matter remain untimed. Thus, neither one nor the 
other could, separately or unconditionally, have generated 
time, or temporal and relative phenomena. 

Imponderable force can only affect mind through the 
medium of material existence; and, on the other hand, 
material existence can only affect mind by its relation to 
imponderable force. 

Imponderable force has per se nothing in common with 
matter per se, for mutually they generate the conception of 
their being equally absolutely self-existent, shutting out the 
possibility of any preceding existence; no entity could 
possibly create another entity out of itself, possessing 
nothing in common with it ; neither could it have fabricated 
it out of nothing, to occupy space, when there was nothing 
to take from, or space to be filled up. 

There can be no such solitary first cause in the absolute 
sense that the immaterial metaphysician claims for it, for all 
cause is bifold in character, and cause, absolutely conceived, 
must be the action of one eternal self-existence on another, 
generating timed or phenomenal causation, which is a stream 
or flux of processes analagous to gestation, operating in that 
unceasing change of conditions known as " allotropism," 
where the same material is recognized under totally different 
characteristics, substances disappearing and re-appearing 
again under the most extensively diversified forms. 

Something is self-existing per se in its very nature. Is it 
matter ? If it is, under what form, quality, or mode of that 



KNOWLEDGE LIMITED TO CONDITIONED ENTITIES. 21 

self-existence can it be seized and absolutely known ? Tt is 
impossible to obtain sucb absolute knowledge, because the 
form and disposition of material existence is incessantly 
changed by time. Time itself is made, that is begotten, by 
the action of eternal force on eternal matter, and the off- 
spring of these two eternal entities is one material person- 
ality or the time-born. 

If matter -per se cannot be recognized, neither can the 
other eternal immaterial force be absolutely known, neither 
can one nor other in its separate states affect human 
consciousness. Separately, they cannot beget any concept 
in the human mind, for generation of mind is as much the 
result or effect of a united and bifold cause, as is the 
production of the rest of natural phenomena. Mind is only 
part and parcel of natural processes, and not an entity in an 
absolute and self- existent condition. 

The direct action of a purely spiritual or immaterial cause 
is outside of all ordained conditions of existence, and cannot 
affect mind in any way until it has been conceived in a 
material ovum. The purely spiritual is the purely super 
and preter-natural, and this is the abstract speculative dream 
of that effete metaphysical system which confuses science by 
persisting in animating the universe with a postulated First 
Cause resembling the human mind, dogmatically assumed to be 
absolutely immaterial, because its necessary dependence upon 
a material organization destroys that hypothesis of its im- 
material immortality which sacerdotalism thrives upon. 

The science of immortality must be constructed by 
digging a sure foundation in the ground of rational and 
material evidence. Existence must have a material as well 
as an immaterial parental cause; its conditions must be 
within the flux of that stream of generative vitality that 
pulsates from the great bifold cause of two eternal self- 
existences, without whose union there is no action what- 
ever. 

Without a material organization there is no individuality. 
Separate or divorce the imponderable from the purely 
material, and the primary parents remain eternally existent ; 



22 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



but what has become of their conditioned offspring? The 
material has returned to the womb of mother earth, and the 
immaterial has passed into other collective arrangements of 
organized life. Thus nothing is lost, but the timed or 
temporary life has vanished ! This flux of time changes 
not the two eternals, it could not possibly do so. The time- 
begotten, when truly born to the estate or conditions of 
endless existence, can only continue in such life in the 
intimate union of its first parents. 

Thy hypotheses of the spiritualists are the dreams of 
abortive thinkers. The philosophy of immortality, like 
that of true sociology, has to be wrested from the tena- 
cious grasp of empirics; but before this can be consummated, 
a great battle has to be fought and won. 

It is allowed that man is not the absolute existence, but a 
condition of one universal existence, or a mode of the whole of 
everything, and that such modification of existence is con- 
ceived relatively, and in dependence on existence which is 
absolutely precedent in such conception. This is equal to 
admitting that concept of individual existence is derived 
from parents to conceive and to beget such dependence upon 
prior absolute existence. Man does not conceive existence 
from his own thought, because he receives this concept of 
individuality from his relation to preceding parents. Paren- 
tal cause, is not of one only but of two, to know objectively 
and subjectively, to beget and conceive; for conception is 
material and subjective, procreation is paternal. To say 
that man's existence is demonstrated by his thought, or 
that individuality is proved by his "I think I am," is to 
assert that the mere concept of phenomenal and relative 
condition, is equal to absolute causation of self-existence 
itself, which cuts mind off from all relation to preceding 
parentage, and brings it into that genuine and uncompounded 
state that it is made to assume when metaphysicians hypo- 
thesize mind as an essence distinct from the material 
universe. If mind is a phenomenal condition of existence, 
it exists not in itself of itself, but in something of which it 
is a mode, which something includes mind as part of 



ABSOLUTES TKANSCEND HUMAN COGNITION. 23 



existence. As the human mind is phenomenal, it is not a 
cause -per se, and its true condition can be known only in 
relation to some cause ; if the cause is that of a parent, then 
since mind's concept of parentage is limited to a material or 
maternal source, which does not divulge the secret of any- 
other cause, it must be concluded, that man, in his present 
mode of existence, is not beyond mere embryonic life, and 
must look to the future for further revelation, for any actual 
knowledge of an absolute paternity. Argument from 
analogy, means reasoning from observation of facts known 
only in relation of one thing to another, and not by know- 
ledge of absolutes in themselves ; comparison, discrimination, 
and judgment depend upon subjective impressions as evidence 
of the relations that subsist between one thing and another. 
Logic has nothing to teach from absolute and unconditioned 
entities, which must transcend human consciousness; it is 
confined to the delivery of judgment from evidence derived 
from concepts generated by preceding entities, so related to 
that mind, that it is conscious of its existence only as a 
succession of being in one great stream of necessary cause 
and effect, generated by the bifold union of two, producing a 
third and intermediate nature. 

This argument has been very ably sustained in the 
columns of a periodical recently started, called the " Future," 
a scientific work deserving extended public patronage. 

In this a Future," Mr. J ackson advocates the cause of 
those who contend for the superiority of the male element in 
the universe, and he maintains that material nature is the 
divine mother, but that the central or true life germ, is 
paternal and spiritual ; in other words, that the material is 
not the male element, but the universal ovum which, impreg- 
nated by the omnipresent spirit of the eternal Father, thus 
becomes the fertile mother of all living. And thus, if it be 
admitted, that all the processes of nature are one prolonged 
gestation, then creation is only another term for generation, 
and material phenomena are but the gradual unfolding of the 
divine germ of existence through the successive phases of 
foetal life, which, when completed, will end in the birth of 



24 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



the divine Son, growing through all these maternal offices 
into the express image of his Father, the primal sire. Mr. 
Jackson contends, that a male is a female elevated into a 
higher manifestation of modes of existence; and that the 
female appears first as the organic symbol of nature, or the 
common mother, while the male is the symbol of the 
universal Father. 

With respect to man's present actual relation to deity, 
Mr. Jackson's argument supports the reasoning from analogy, 
that nature is marsupial to the human race, or in a foetal 
stage of their type of organized existence, and thus are 
almost wholly mother's instead of father's children. 

Because mankind are not positively or fully born into 
likeness of, or direct relation to, the eternal Father, until 
they are, so to speak, "born again," that is to say, they 
must be carried into the omnipresence of their eternal 
Father, by the parturition throes of vital processes, from 
their present embryonic condition of existence in the womb 
of nature, the universal mother, to this "second birth." 
And it will logically follow from this premiss, that the 
human mind, in relation to the great paternal or monogen- 
etic origin of all vital force, is still essentially undeveloped 
in its first germal state, exhibiting all the characteristics of 
infantile intelligence, feebleness, helplessness, and necessary 
absolute dependence upon maternal nourishment. 

It is argued, that if " the primary cellule " is female in 
type, it is organic life in its germal stage, and that this 
primary cellule is fecundated, not by interaction between 
the nucleus and its circumambient fluid, not by the reaction 
of a neuter or male chaos upon a feminine creation, but by 
the infusion of an element which is the analogue of spirit, 
that is, the imponderable forces of the universe existing in a 
state of diffusion, not yet incarnate in a visible male, and so 
acting like the unincorporated deity as an omnipresent 
vitalizer. 

To this, Mr. Jackson's opponent replies, that as the primary 
organic cellule is the type of the female nature, then the 
surrounding matter must be the relative equivalent of the 



MAN YET UNBORN IN THE WOMB OF COSMOS. 25 



male nature ; and so, because this primary female cellule has 
been constituted out of the same external materials as those 
belonging to the unincorporated male, and more especially 
constituted of the omnipresent spiritual vitality diffused 
throughout those materials, therefore this superior spiritual 
element is more especially present in the female as being 
therein organized, specialized, and individualized; and inas- 
much as the female is internal and organized, and the male 
external and unorganized, f ^r that reason the female is in- 
herently superior to the male element. And since the same 
spiritual vitality obtains in each, it is not the prerogative 
of the male, but it is, on the contrary, to be found more 
specialized in the female element, which is the formative, 
the creative, the active, and attractive element of the universe, 
so that the collection, concentration, and organization of the 
external material or male into organized forms, is the function 
of the true spiritual female drawing to herself the surround- 
ing material, which is the attracted male. It is contended 
that everywhere there exists a great duality, resolving 
itself into a great but lesser trinity, the order of sequence 
being neuter, male, female; the female being everywhere 
the type of the higher nature; and that there exist two 
great divisions of things, the spiritual and the material, both 
necessary and primary, eternal, uncreated, and indestructible, 
the materials of all that are, and have been, or will be. 
Spirit is said to be a bona fide substance, higher in nature 
than matter, but obedient to all the laws of matter, and 
having all the powers and capabilities of matter. This 
spirit is everywhere diffused through the cosmic mass, and 
it is the function of animate life to collect, concentrate, and 
organize it in forms capable of manifesting cognisable phe- 
nomena. It is laid down as axiomatic, that the laws of the 
universe know of no exception, for they are but the expres- 
sion of the inherent necessity of things ; that every living 
structure whose history is known is the product of genera- 
tion, only like causes being able to produce like effects ; 
and consequently in pursuit of cause absolutely known 
we must descend backwards in the scale of parentage lower 



26 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



and lower, until we reach the simplest acts of chemical 
union. 

In another place this reasoning is formulated as follows : — 
"All the lines of life, as they are not eternal and un- 
" changeable, must be traced backward through successive 
" parentages and successive simplifications, until we come to 
" the ultimate simplicity of all, to the primary and uncreated 
" parents, in other words, to the simplest condition of entity, 
" and this must present to us, as in all cases of generation, 
" two natures more or less differing, which by their union 
" are capable of producing a third and intermediate nature. 
" This is the definition of the simplest chemical act as well 
" as of the highest organic union, and therefore the simplest 
u chemical act is the nearest analogue of primary generation, 
" of the original marriage of the eternal with the eternal. 
" Hence the function of the Creator, as regards generation, 
" is simply the arranging of primary entities in such a 
" manner that a pre-arranged stream of generations must 
" necessarily follow from the conjunction, but no cause but 
" generation itself can be the immediate and direct producer 
" of organic phenomena." 

Mr. Jackson contends that Deity is the primary paternal 
generator, the sole male originator of life in the universe, 
and that matter is the maternal or feminine, and consequently 
relatively inferior and passive element in the universe. His 
opponent says, No. " Had we not better leave the special 
" action or modus operandi of the Creator out altogether, 
" since we cannot grasp it either with due reverence or clear 
" apprehension." Deity, he contends, is not a generator, but 
the fabricator of the universe. The generator is always female, 
whereas a fabricator may be either male or female. The 
fabricator is superior to his work, but the generator is inferior 
to the generated, therefore to regard Deity as a Creator in 
the sense of the fabricator of the universe is to remove him 
from this discussion, and then Deity's relation to the universe 
is that of an artificer to his work, and this is not a relation 
of parentage at all ; God, it is contended, is the framer of 
the universe, and is only metaphorically a father, not gene- 



THE DESIGN ARGUMENT. 



27 



ratively so. And thus the relation of the universe to him is 
not that of wife or daughter, but that of work, that of the 
watch to the watchmaker. 

This reminds one of Paley's exploded fallacy of the 
design argument, and makes creation another term for 
fabrication out of nothing, in flat contradiction of the 
essayist's own definition on page 108 of the same book, 
where it is said that creation is but another term for 
generation, and again at 179, where it is said that all the 
varied phenomena of organic life present themselves as 
direct consequences of generative acts, and that such phe- 
nomena can never take place by any other cause than 
generative acts, and consequently that we must banish from 
legitimate science, at once and for ever, all ideas of creation 
by fiat, by word, by command, or mere act of volition. 

Now if the Creator is not the primary parent, or generator 
of vitality in the universe, but is a fabricator only, existing 
as an entity, who is apart and distinct from this universe, 
then we are forcibly impressed with the truth of Mr. Thos. 
Carlyle's celebrated objection to this manufacturing or con- 
structing hypothesis of universal phenomena. He says in 
his Misc. Essays, vol. iv, page 321 : — 

" The whole current hypothesis of the universe being a 
" machine, and then of an architect who constructed it, 
" sitting, as it were, apart, and guiding it, and seeing it go, 
<c may turn out an inanity and nonentity, not much longer 
" tenable ; with which result we shall in the quietest manner 
" reconcile ourselves." 

Mr. Jackson's opponent, in this " Future," controverts the 
notion that Deity can be actually, positively, and truly a 
generator, or parent of vital force. At page 173, we find 
the following arguments : — 

" If the Deity be a generator in any true sense of the 
" term, as distinguished from artificer and fabricator, then 
" he is necessarily Mother, or Female. Nay, more, he is 
" necessarily like his offspring, a universe of the same form 
" and structure as the universe which he has generated." 

But if the universe is only phenomenally cognised as a 



28 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



mode or condition of existence, then it is not the great 
existence per se, as it actually is, but it is an effect of that 
which includes it in a prior cause, which is confessedly bifold, 
that is, it is the union of two entities, more or less differing, 
which generates, (not fabricates,) a third and inter-existent 
nature ; therefore it is hardly logical to say that the absolute 
and invisible generator is necessarily like his visible offspring, 
which is allowed to be. revealed only as a condition of, and 
related to, this preceding absolute existence. 
Further on the essayist remarks: — 

" If the universe be generated, its parent is a like universe, 
" either actually existing, or which has passed away ; and 
"the type of this parent, as of the universe itself, is the 
" globule, and its correlative male is the unorganised, the 
" external chaos. And if the universe be a growth, or 
" development, it necessarily follows that it has been 
Ci generated, that it is a living organism, and conforms to all 

O * CD CD J 

" the laws and analogies of other living organisms. 

ct Now if the Creator be external to his work, out of the 
" universe, then his action, as framer, belongs to a period 
" antecedent to this stream of generations ; and if he be 
" within the universe, he is either a part of it, and conforms 
" to its changes, and lives and dies with it, or he is in the 
" relation of a man within his house, with the curious 
" speciality that this house never contains the same thing for 
" two consecutive moments, but is perpetually changing 
" from a state of infantile immaturity, to maturity and 
" death, when the tenant must necessarily quit, and seek 
" another residence." 

This reasoning is based upon the assumption, that the 
human mind, in its present embryonic condition, can have 
cognisance of the eternal and absolute primary parents as 
they exist per se. It cannot be these uncaused, uncondi- 
tioned, and infinite first parents themselves that grow to 
maturity, decay, or change and die, for they must be 
eternally the same in very necessity of their unconditioned 
existence. It is only their offspring, in modes and conditions 
of their existence, that grow, change, and vanish, that is, 



INFINITE PATERNITY VEILED IN MATERIALISM. 29 

perish, as related to the eternity of their parents, who cannot 
possibly be affected by the mutation of relative and phe- 
nomenal effects of their own unconditioned and absolute 
existence. 

How can it be possible for a fabricator to generate existence 
by mere constructive, or artificial impulse ? If the essayist 
had said that Deity, as an omnipresent Father, is hidden 
behind the veil of material gestation, he would have repeated 
a former admission, where it was said (v. p. 104,) that this 
earth, in its foetal condition, derives its nourishment, mainly 
at least, in a direct stream from its mother, not the father ; 
and again, it is said that mankind are almost wholly mother's, 
instead of being father's children. 

To human cognition, the universe has undoubtedly an 
essentially maternal and material aspect. It is as though 
matter was omnipotent ; and it is therefore quite correct to 
assert, that relatively to man, as he now is, in a foetal stage, 
the female is superior to the male element in the universe. 

But to man, elevated into higher modes or condition of 
that intelligence, of which he is now but an initial type, is it 
not probable, and possible, that there will be demonstrated 
an actual revelation of the reality of a great paternal 
existence, to which he is consciously related, positively and 
truly as a son ; that is to say, where the paternal is not of a 
metaphorical, but of an actual character? If the literal 
meaning of the revelation of former sons, or prophets and 
messengers of Deity, can be accepted, then it is plain, past 
controversy, that the eternal and infinite existence of all, 
was literally or positively, and not metaphorically, their 
Father. They asserted that they were sons, revealing 
in themselves the paternal existence to which they were 
related and in whom they lived, as condition of that one 
generator of vital force ; and they were immortals, because 
begotten by that procreative energy by which the material 
universe was made to conceive its vital processes. Their 
genesis, then, was not origination by artistic making, con- 
structing, or fabricating, but actual generating, for the 
eternal word incarnate, in material atoms, is " Thou art my 



30 



CONFLICT OF RIVAL OPINIONS. 



" Son, this day (conditioned in time) I have begotten thee," 
and thus it is not designed, fabricated, arranged, constructed, 
or created thee, but literally generated in its strictest sense, 
consequently, the son is for ever a mode, a relative existence 
of the Father's eternal " I am," and is always revealed as 
incarnate in material personality. This relationship of the 
son to the eternal Father, in each individual instance, is 
man's only ground of hope for inheritance of the parental 
estate of immortality. 



31 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 

Sacerdotalism, in the garb of christian philosophy, has 
seized the Bible, and usurped its authority as a revealer of 
secrets, or the " Zaphnath-paaneah" of Deity, to supplement 
and support its illogical jargon. Therefore it is the duty and 
interest of the students and priests of natural philosophy to 
wrest this book from the grasp of sacerdotal conspirators, and 
to turn its artillery round to play upon the present 'spounders 
and 'splainers, who have sealed up this Bible as with seven 
seals, using the wax and stamp of fallible human tradition, 
fabricated out of barren, abstract, metaphysical speculation. 

Now the foundation stone of sacerdotalism is the assumed 
immortality of the human soul. To demonstrate this dogma 
the union or marriage of the two primary eternal parents is 
divorced; for since nature, and all natural beings, are the 
offspring, by the union of imponderable force, or spirit, with 
matter generating a third nature, partaking of the qualities 
of both parents, it follows, by logical deduction from this 
premiss, that all mental and physical phenomena are now 
the attributes of a material or natural organization ; and, con- 
sequently, the assumed existence of mind, as a self-existent 
entity, per se, apart from material conditions of force, is a 
purely speculative hypothesis, which science demonstrates to 
be positively irrational, absurd, and as baseless as the fleet- 
ing fabric of a dream. 

Mr. Isaac Taylor, one of the great champions of the 



32 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



modern evangelical sacerdotalism, says in his work entitled 
the "World of Mind," page 103, paragraph 239:— 

" Mind and matter, however intimately combined they 
" may be, are two natures, not one ; until we assume this 
" principle as our basis, the sciences which bear upon the 
" two severally, are found to vitiate each other." 

At page 337, he asserts that — 

" A scientific age may by chance be also a religious age, 
" but if the two powers are ever synchronous, it will be 
" only because they occupy spaces in the community that 
" are far remote from each other, and between which there 
u is little or no intercourse." 

He remarks, page 351 : — 

" The doctrine of the immortality of the human soul 
" rests upon its own (/round (?) and will be quite safe so 
" long as it is left to rely upon its proper evidence ; so far 
" as religious opinions of any kind are implicated in scientific 
" enquiries, it is of far more consequence to establish the 
" great principle of the absoluteness of the difference 
t( between mind and matter than to insist upon a distinction 
" between the higher and lower order of mind, which, if 
" indeed it could be established, would merge that distinc- 
" tion, and would hand us over without help to materialism." 

Thus all sacerdotal theologies, having for their foundation- 
stone the assumed immortality of the human mind, must 
necessarily be jealous of that natural philosophy which 
demonstrates that, mind and matter being one nature, it is 
not possible, in inherent necessity of things, that the human 
mind could exist of itself apart from a material organization ; 
and that no man can define what mind is divorced from 
matter, nor contrary wise what matter is when separated from 
imponderable force, such as the human mind is assumed to be. 

Modern sacerdotalism, conventionally called Christianity, 
actually teaches the heathen dogma of the immortality of 
the human soul, and professes to find that this doctrine has 
been proved by revelation of the divine will in the Bible. 

But the Bible does not teach this metaphysical hypothesis, 
and the students and priests of natural science assert that from 



THE BIBLE A SEALED BOOK. 



33 



the warning given by the Hebrew seers or prophets respect- 
ing the state of biblical knowledge in the last days, the con- 
ventional interpretation of these Hebrew canonical Scriptures 
is entirely false. Isaiah in chapter xxix says :— 

" For the Lord hath poured upon you the spirit of deep 
" sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets (interpreters 
" of prophecy) and your rulers, and seers (bishops and 
" ministers of religion) hath he covered, and the perception 
" of all is become unto you as the words of a j j (or 

" letter) that is sealed which men deliver to me that is 
" learned, saying, read this I pray thee, and he saith, I 

" cannot for it is sealed, and the book, j ^^ter, } * s delivered 
" to one that is not learned, saying, read this I pray thee, 
(< and he saith I am not learned." 

The hypothesis of the immortality of the human soul 
being the foundation of all sacerdotal theologies, then, if the 
Hebrew canonical Scriptures and later Greek writings really 
teach this doctrine, there is an end of all controversy as far 
as those writings are concerned. But if on the other hand 
the collection of scriptures, called " The Bible," can be clearly 
shewn not only to negative this heathen dogma, but actually 
teach what is stigmatised by priests as materialism, then all 
theistical systems, based upon this shaky foundation of im- 
materialism, must come tumbling down like houses built upon 
a quicksand. Still it by no means logically follows, that if 
these priestly systems, which have so built upon a rotten basis, 
are impotent to beget any rational system of philosophy rela- 
tive to the divine inheritance of immortality, that there cannot 
be any other and better science founded upon realism, or the 
undeniable witness of material phenomena. 

The same Bible which denies the heathen doctrine of the 
immortality of the human soul, nevertheless teaches an 
eternity of existence in a material organization, thus sustain- 
ing the argument of natural philosophers ; but it cannot be 
argued that such materialism of biblical teaching is that 
gross conception of material pantheism that has been 
erroneously ascribed to Spinoza and Buddhism. 

D 



34 THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 

The natural, or material science of the Bible, is identical 
with that philosophy which asserts, that imponderable force 
called mind, and what is called the vis inertia of matter, have 
been once and for ever eternally united, and that in conse- 
quence of such marriage, all their offspring, so generated, 
must necessarily be constituted, or begotten, of that interme- 
diate nature which partakes of the qualities of both primary 
parents. If this be admitted, it logically follows that 
imponderable force cannot be severed from matter, and it 
follows also, that force and matter are begotten one thing or 
one nature, as Faraday truly says in his lecture on the 
" Conservation of Forces," — " We know matter only by the 
forces of matter." 

The account given in the first chapter of Genesis, 
refers to the generation of the first son of the eternal 
Father, in one of the dust-formed races of mortal men; and 
the creation by generation, here spoken of as being the 
operation of 144 hours' labour, refers to the period of 
material and maternal gestation in natural processes of the 
son of man as a little world (mzcrocosm) in himself, sym- 
bolical of the greater universe (macrocosm) of worlds, of 
which he is an atom ; for there never was more than one 
word of generation for the procreation of everything, and 
thus it must apply to each atom as truly as it can apply to 
the universe of atoms. 

All force, since its impregnation of material ova, acts in 
time, revolving in orbits of ceaseless untiring motion, com- 
pleting in its predestined course the cycle of the divine word, 
the alpha to omega of self-existence ; the Father to Son, and 
the Son to the Father, the son not impersonal and absolute 
like the father, but begotten into personality by the union of 
two, that is by the marriage of spirit and matter, thus 
constituting the personality of the eternal by the incar- 
nation of idea in material forces, so that all force, all 
power, all mind, all intelligence, all idea, call it what we may, 
is now an attribute of material organization, and never 
cognisable as an impersonal or disembodied ghost. 

There is no revelation of Deity given to man recorded in 



REVELATION OF DEITY IN MATERIAL PERSONALITY. 35 



the Bible, except it is in, and by, and through the material 
personality of the Son. The Deity revealed in the Hebrew 
scriptures is invariably the angel or messenger of the Lord, 
and this is never a disembodied or immaterial ghost. The 
revelation of God in the Greek records is in the same way, 
by and through the Son in man. 

It is a fact of tremendous significance, ominous of disaster 
for all sacerdotal systems of preternaturalism, that the opening 
scenes in the Bible are historical of the fall of the first 
messengers or angels of God upon earth, owing to their being 
poisoned with the effete system of theological good and evil. 

And the first story of murder therein recorded, is that 
between Cain and Abel in a theistic controversy. 

In the case of Adam and Eve, the serpent, true to his 
sacerdotal instinct, assails the woman when alone, that is, 
during her husband's absence, and he succeeds in making her 
ashamed of her marital intercourse ! The husband follows 
his wife's footsteps, and they eventually become so priest- 
polluted with theological good and evil, as to be conscious of 
uncleanness in their natural marital intercourse. They 
must have fig-leaf appendages to conceal what morbid, 
mawkish prudery must have covered " in nude statuary " with 
the same fig-leaf aprons. A fine sample of this sacerdotal 
interference was not very long ago afforded in France, where 
a husband contrives, after considerable trouble, to extract 
from his wife the true cause of her positive refusal to con- 
tinue sharing the same sleeping apartment. She confessed 
that her priestly confessor had taught her that marital 
intercourse was sinful under certain peculiar theological 
circumstances. The exasperated husband was well nigh 
driven, in his anger and abhorrence, to resort to the fool's 
argument of laying a horse-whip over the priest's shoulders. 

The angels of God were expressly cautioned to avoid this 
sacerdotal system of theological good and evil; but the 
unhappy woman is first polluted by a priest, called meta- 
phorically "a serpent" and she drags down her partner to 
the level of her own fall. These first angels of God were 
immortal conditionally \ as indeed everything is subject to 

d 2 



36 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



conditions, not excepting even divine truth, as related in 
revelation to mankind. Disregard of Deity's conditional 
arrangements, by these his first messengers, led to their 
lapse into the mortality of those human races above which 
they had been conditionally elevated. 

The statement in Genesis that God made man in his own 
image, does not warrant the gratuitous assumption that this 
Adam was the first animal man upon earth, for the very 
words used here, " let us make man in our image," presuppose 
man to be already in existence not in the image, or Adam of 
God, — Adam means image, form, or likeness, — and thus the 
statement in Genesis corroborates recent scientific discoveries 
that the human race had existed for countless ages prior to 
the date assigned to the appearance of the first son of God 
upon earth. 

The real significance of the term Adam, or image, depends 
wholly upon what it refers, or is related to. Thus, related 
to Deity, the term Adam will mean image or likeness of the 
eternal Father; but related to man, Adam means form or 
image of mother earth. Now if the first revelation of the 
divine Son, or Christ incarnate in man, is here recorded in 
Genesis, it necessarily follows that if that elevation into 
immortality, as the anointed Son or Christ of God, was con- 
ditioned upon his abstinence from certain effete theological 
misconceptions, the infringement of those conditions con- 
tributed to the obliteration of the Adam of God, and left 
nothing but the Adam or form of earth remaining, to return 
finally to dust again. 

The interpretation put upon this account of the angels' 
fall, recorded in Genesis, is by the priests to the effect that 
this Adam was the first man upon earth. This, however, 
is evidently incorrect, for instead of its being the recorded 
birth of the first man, or Adam of earth, it is the birth of 
the first son, or Adam of the eternal Father, in one of the 
many millions of perishable men then existing on this 
planet. 

The first Adam spoken of in the Bible is therefore not the 
first image or likeness of man, but the first son or likeness 



ADAM THE FIRST REVELATION OF THE SON OF MAN. 37 

of Deity in man. It is the genesis or generation of Christ 
in the son of man, and the two angels were as man and 
woman, or as husband and wife, together one flesh, or one 
temple of the eternal Father, and symbolical of the first 
marriage of the primary, uncreated, unbegotten, self-existent 
parents. Thus Adam and Eve were as husband and wife in 
one Christ, symbolical of the grand union of spirit and 
matter, in one nature. 

If all mankind were constituted immortal souls in this 
account of the generation or genesis of Christ in the Adam 
of dust-formed man, then the entire statement is a confused 
illogical, and most perplexing jumble; and the lie of the 
serpent seducer would have been no lie at all when he told 
the woman that theology of good and evil would not ruin 
them, but make them immortals or gods, constituting them 
beings who are morally, that is theologico-morally, re- 
sponsible to Deity from being made conscious of the 
fundamental antithesis of absolute good (Ormuzd) and abso- 
lute evil (Ahriman) in the universe. 

But this account in Genesis, which states that man exists 
by inspiration a living soul, speaks also in the 30th verse of 
the very same chapter, of " Every beast of the earth, and 
" every fowl of the air, and every thing that creepeth upon 
" the earth, wherein there is a living soul." So that if man 
be immortal from possessing a living soul, equally are beasts, 
birds, and insects immortals, since they also possess living 
souls, and all exist by the inspiration or inbreathing of the 
same imponderable spirit of life that is inextricably inter- 
woven with the aqueous and gaseous atoms of the universe. 
And if the beasts are mortals, though temporarily possessing 
living souls as attributes of a material organization, in like 
manner must mankind be mortals, since they are animated 
by the same vital spirit or soul. 

The recent discoveries of geologists have demonstrated 
the fact that the cosmogony conventionally supposed to be 
taught by Moses in Genesis is not true, and that all the 
labour and pains of Drs. Kurtz and Chalmers, of John Pye 
Smith, of Hitchcock, Hugh Miller, and their camp followers, 



38 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



are so much stuff and time wasted in fruitless attempts to 
square the circle of theological assumptions, flatly contra- 
dicted by known natural phenomena. 

The real secret of the great anxiety exhibited by sacer- 
dotalists is simply this, that they find themselves bound to 
satisfy sceptical pupils that the great foundation stone of 
immaterialism, which underlies their scheme of the atone- 
ment, and the dogma of man's free will, rests upon biblical 
authority, for it is man's own claim to inherit the reversion 
of immortality that is so hotly contested. It is a farce to 
pretend that it is genuine zeal for Deity's glory that is the 
animus, for those who truly reverence Deity are content 
with their lot, whether they are destined to obtain the gift 
of eternal life, or whether they must quietly perish. Theists 
of the super and preternatural seek in the Bible authority 
for certain assumptions, not proved by science, viz., that the 
human mind is an immaterial entity that can exist apart 
from a natural or material organization ; that there are rival 
beings of good and evil in the universe ; that all mankind 
have descended from one paradisiacal pair whose fall involved 
the eternal misery of the entire human race, and that an 
atonement by proxy is needed to restore what an evil spirit 
contrived to destroy, in defiance of the care of divine om- 
nipotence. 

That which underlies all theistical contentions is the 
philosophy of creation, as to what creation really is; whether 
it reveals one solitary or a bifold cause, whether it is fabrica- 
tion out of nothing as a mechanical operation of one designer, 
or whether it is not merely another term for generation, that 
is of TWO uncreated entities conjugating plurality. The 
bulk of the modern tower of Babel may be valued by 
sampling from a few bricks, that is books, for the ancient 
babblement was constructed by linguistic and theistical 
babblers out of books to reach the high heaven of immor- 
tality. It was not made of clay, for bricks could never 
carry the dead to life in heaven, however high the tower 
Was piled up. 

Here are the lectures of a clergymen of repute, the 



REV. H. CHRISTMAS* LECTURES. 39 

Rev. Henry Christmas, whose essays are dated from Sion 
College, February, 1848, delivered to a society of young 
men interested in the establishment and extension of missions 
for propagating theistical science at home and abroad. The 
subject of these lectures is, " The connection between Natural 
" Philosophy and Revealed Religion," and it is remarked, 
that this connection may be made available for religious 
purposes, inasmuch as many persons may be induced to see 
the beauties of theology if indirectly drawn thereto, who 
would lay aside with neglect the most eloquent of pro- 
fessedly spiritual works. The reverend lecturer is right, for 
of all the soporific decoctions that the press ever retails, 
nothing is more repulsively mind-confusing and brain- 
addling than these professedly spiritual works. Paganini's 
solos upon a one -stringed fiddle were endurable, so it is said, 
but these attenuated fiddlings, with their involuntary varia- 
tions, have for the major part not one redeeming quality ; 
exceptions are rare indeed, and what man, valuing sound 
judgment, would weaken and confuse it by such spiritual 
studies as metaphysico-theological meanderings into the 
origin of evil, the endless disputes about water-baptismal 
regenerations, promises, pledges, sacraments or signs of 
grace, and postponed performances, together with ten 
thousand and one hashings and mincings of doctrinal 
palavers, about predestination to election of life everlasting 
and damnation, about rationalism, high, low, or loose, and 
broad churchism, antinomianism, and hell- fire. 
The lecturer says : — 

" To meet this difficulty, some well-intentioned persons 
" have written religious novels, and this class of fiction has 
" increased in amount year by year to the present day." 
But he doubts, he says, " Whether this plan is in itself 
" expedient, because to inculcate spiritual truth by means of 
" fictitious narrative, has been called in question, and the 
" mass of religious novels have two great and valid objec- 
'* tions, for in addition to the want of literary merit, there 
" is another and stronger ground of objection to the 
" generality of religious fictions, being essentially tractarian, 



40 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



tc if not popish, in their nature and tendency, amidst much 
" apparent meekness and humility, they breathe the very 
" spirit of pride and intolerance ;" he thinks that " Perhaps, 
" the cause of their failure was to be found in the bad 
c< principles as well as in the poor execution of these 
<f novels." Well, perhaps it was, whoever has perused any 
of these puseyite productions for the confusion of useful 
knowledge, will doubtless remember the aesthetic and ascetic 
ideas, and the thaumaturgic principles sought to be inculcated 
in catlap of the most attenuated description. Such plots, 
such characters, such priests, men, women, and children, it 
never was my poor fortune to have seen ; these tales are not 
confined to penny tract twaddles, they are circulated in 
substantial novels, where the heroes are hobbledehoy curates, 
who backbite absentee rectors, for ball-room haunting, 
theatre-going, port-wine drinking, and continental travelling 
indulgences, and who avail themselves of their superior's 
absence to talk " high " views to lackadaisical women, im- 
pregnating rustics and chawbacons with perplexing theories 
about " real presence " in consubstantiation, and inoculating 
milk maids with the efficacy of baptismal regeneration ; well, 
fortune favor the brave readers of these extraordinary books, 
for surely Baron Munchausen was a fool to what some of 
the saints in the calendar of these priests are reported to 
have achieved. Mr. Christmas suggests two causes for 
their failure; two causes indeed, style abominable, and 
doctrine atrocious! why one would be sufficient to call down 
sentence of damnation from sensible folks, to say nothing of 
the brimstone odour of the doctrines complained of. 

Justice however compels us to say that the evangelical 
clique cannot plead guiltless to the charge of writing 
twaddling theological books. Some of these low, or rather 
loose church effusions, are a scandal to any nation professing 
to understand the art of logical reasoning. It is odd that 
the objection to novels, as channels for conveying theistical 
speculations, was not found out until the evangelicals had 
been beaten at their own trade. 

The " Index expurgatorius," belongs to all systems of 



RELIGIOUS NOVELS. 



41 



sacerdotalism, and is no way confined to the Roman section. 
It has been much used of late by protestant evangelicalism, 
which has shewn itself to be as rabidly tyrannical a cur as 
ever slunk away howling from the sight of clean water. 

So when Mr. Christmas finds that the loose church party 
have lost the exclusive use of novels, he ventures upon 
speculating in a little adventure of pseudo scientific lec- 
turing, remarking that — 

" The glorious discoveries of astronomy, and the magnifi- 
" cent but perplexing theories of geologists, will be fraught 
<c with interest to minds which regard the disputes of 
ee theologians with unmerited contempt." 

And it is argued, that this amalgamation of science and 
sacerdotalism presents a vast platform whereon priests and 
secularists may meet, compare their theories and discoveries ; 
and where the first may have their creeds systematized, and 
scientific folks have their discoveries theologised to mutual 
advantage, a good exchange being no robbery. Moreover, 
in addition to the great advantages that this conglomeration 
possesses of attracting and bird-liming shy birds, it is gravely 
stated to be absolutely necessary for a right understanding 
of the Scriptures themselves. 

Then the lecturer names eight departments of science that 
the Bible is competent to teach, namely, astronomy, geology, 
palaeontology, natural history, philosophy, history, geography, 
and antiquarian records. 

Now if there is any truth in the saying, that poetry serves 
genius as a vehicle for conveying sublimest verities, its flashes 
opening up new regions of thought, then the poetic imagery 
of the Bible may, in like fashion, teach scientific revelation ; 
for all discovery, all invention is revelation, which is only 
another mode of expressing exalted intelligence, an elevation 
of mental conditions to clear the reflecting mirror, to image, 
in a brighter form or Adam, that which exists. But as for 
the Bible teaching science in accordance with the style and 
usages of modern nomenclature and classification, it is as 
mischievous as it is rash to assert that it does so. 

First of all, we are told that the love of science and genuine 



42 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



piety do not always synchronize; again, that the spirit of 
scientific research may be cultivated with some success, and 
yet it may never open the mind to religious (sacerdotal?) 
influences, nor induce that mind to regard the phenomena of 
nature so as to lead from nature to nature's divine Author. 
And yet, shortly after having said this, it is contended that 
the mind cannot rightly read the book of nature without 
reading therein the will of God; and, more than this, that 
the nearer science approaches towards adequate knowledge 
of creation, the closer will it approach towards an adequate 
conception of those particular attributes of love, holiness, 
mercy, longsuffering, forgiving sin and transgression, that it 
has been the object of revelation (what revelation?) to make 
known to man. 

If this is so, then what is called supernatural revelation is 
needless and positively mischievous. 

Mr. Christmas asserts that the Bible reveals the astonishing 
fact, that the entire material universe has been constructed, 
or conjured up, out of nothing ; as if the designing theological 
first cause had made everything out of no materials, or made 
those materials out of himself. He says : — 

" God made, in the first place, all things out of nothing ; 
" and afterwards, and not till afterwards, did he form those 

" things that were seen There was but one express act 

" of creation for this physical world. * God created the 
" 4 heavens and the earth.' And there was also but one act 
" of creation with regard to the spiritual or intellectual 
" world. ' God formed man of the dust of the ground, and 
" f breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man 
" ( became a living soul.' Here, then, we have two express 
" acts of creation — the one the creation of matter, and the 
" other the creation of spirit." 

Then allusion is made to that vexed question, the eternity 
of matter. The material universe being maintained by 
ancient philosophers to be the phenomenal effect of eternal 
existence, and that all matter was but derived, or formed, 
from matter previously self-existent in another form, Mr. 
Christmas says ; — 



ENIGMA OF SIX DAYS' CREATION. 



43 



" This question, which occupied the attention of the wisest 
" minds century after century, and which, indeed, would 
" appear by its nature to be removed beyond the * power of 
" observation, so that mankind could come to no certain, 
" mathematical demonstration the one way or the other, is 
" settled for us by the word of the divine record. God made 
" all things out of nothing, ' by the word of his power or, 
" in other words, by the Son of his love; so that things 
(e which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 
" This, then, is the comment of the New Testament upon 
" those words in the Old, c In the beginning God created 
" c the heavens and the earth.'" 

The argument of the apostle is, that all visible or humanly 
perceived material phenomena are the effects of what does 
not now appear. It is by no means a logical inference to 
draw from the expression, "not made of things which do 
" (now ?) appear," that all things were made out of nothing. 
The only logical conclusion to be drawn from the apostle's 
argument is, that visible effects are the operation of invisible 
and, therefore, unknown causes. 

There is not a particle of evidence forthcoming from 
Genesis to prove that creation means the fabrication or con- 
struction of the material universe out of nothing. The only 
creation alluded to in the Bible is the " procreation" of the 
Son of God in one of the many millions of the sons of men 
then living on this planet. It is asking rather too much of 
secularists to believe that the macrocosmic universe, the 
stars or suns, planets, and satellites, together with all orga- 
nized creatures therein living, were conjured, or called up 
from nothing in the definite period of 144 hours. The 
creation of man as the Adam or image of the eternal Father 
is here depicted as a microcosmic symbol of the macrocosmic 
universe, and this period of 144 hours employed in the for- 
mation or gestatory process, is the enigma that priests have 
bothered their brains in all past time to find the solution of. 
The answer is given in the seventeenth verse of the twenty- 
first chapter of the Revelation to John, where this period of 
six days formation, or 144 hours' growth, is applied to the 



44 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



measurement of man himself, that is of man made an angel 
of light, and this material personality of the man fully born 
into sonship of the eternal is here designated the " temple" 
of God. 

When the J ews demanded from Jesus a sign of his son- 
ship, he pointed to the traditional seventy-two hours impri- 
sonment of the prophet Jonah in the womb of nature, and 
told them that he himself would be the same period in the 
heart of mother earth. Now this time of three days and 
nights is exactly half of the 144 hours of creation. If theo- 
logians can perform the part of GEdipus and unriddle this 
Sphinx, and count the steps on the ladder of immortality, 
they are bound in self defence to come forward, otherwise 
the babes and sucklings of erudition will compel them to 
admit their ignorance. 

The Hebrew words employed in Genesis to describe this 
creation of microcosmic man arc " Bara " and " Hasah" and 
in the twenty- seventh verse they are used conjunctively, 
denoting a bifold cause that implies a radical difference in the 
entities themselves so uniting or conjugating. 

The first word "Bara" is used in a sense denoting mascu- 
line procreative, and the second one " Hasah " that of 
feminine formative or conceptive energy. Here is plainly 
that bifold cause, both active and passive, that is the duality 
of two primary, uncreated, unbegotten, infinite, absolute, and 
unconditioned entities, whose conjugal union generates the 
triads, and so on to innumerable multiplicity of relations, 
not by creation, or conjuration of everything out of nothing, 
but by generation, that is procreation and formation in one 
naturalization. 

For when it is said that Adam and Eve, as male and female, 
were made in the image or likeness of deity, it necessarily 
makes these two, in their union of husband and wife in one 
anointed witness, to be the true symbol of the eternal union 
of the great primary, uncreated, self-existent parents. 

There is nothing in Genesis to support Mr. Christmas' 
hypothesis of two creations or fabrications, one of matter, 
and the other of spirit. There is nothing of the preter or 



THE SERPENT SEDUCER. 



45 



contra natural in the narrative. It is simply a record of facts 
conveyed in mythological symbolism, and was probably at 
one time set to music and rehearsed as an oratorio ; there is 
nothing new under the sun, for the great circle of existence 
and its phenomenal revelations end where they began. 

In these opening scenes in the drama of the great tragedy 
of the fall of the first angels, or children of Deity, upon 
earth, there cannot be a doubt but that the same flux of 
natural process in time, order, and sequence of cause and 
effect obtained in their case as was antecedently at work in 
other worlds. 

When Mr. Christmas, in his lectures, comes to speak of 
what he calls the fall of man from his original righteousness, 
or theological state of holiness, he insists upon the literal 
meanings of the oriental parables, such as trees, &c. ; and 
with reference to the serpent, who is said to have indoctri- 
nated the woman Eve with theology of good and evil, the 
lecturer observes : — 

" The word rendered serpent here is not the term usually 
" rendered serpent, but one of a very peculiar character, and 
" concerning the interpretation of which no divines have 
" ever been satisfied." 

Again — 

" Now it has been said that as the serpent is not a subtle 
ts animal, never could go save on its belly, and does not now 
" eat dust, the curse could not have been pronounced upon 
" any creature of the serpent tribe, but that something else 
" must have been meant, some animal more exalted in the 
te scale of creation ; that inasmuch as we consider the reptile 
" class as occupying a very low place therein, some creature 
<e enjoying a much higher rank, gifted with greater powers, 
" and in whose case the assumption of the power of speech 
" would not appear so wonderful, must have been intended 
" by the original word, which is nachasch, and which is here 
w rendered serpent. Nay, this has taken so great a hold 
" upon some minds, that one of the most learned commen- 
" tators, Dr. Adam Clarke, has expended a great deal of 
" labour and pains to prove that so far from being a serpent 



46 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



" at all, it was rather an animal of the monkey kind, and he 
<f tells us that it may probably have been that kind of 
w monkey which we call the orang outang, or perhaps the 
<f chimpanzee. We apprehend it is quite sufficient to reply 
" that no animals of this class do go on their belly at this day, 
" or literally or metaphorically eat dust, so that the curse at 
" all events is totally inapplicable to them" 

The lecturer then records his decided opinion, from study 
of antiquity, traditions, and mythologies, that the creature 
nachasch was actually one of the reptilian class, acting as the 
agent of Satan, or the great impersonation of an evil spirit. 
To sustain this hypothesis, the rabbinical absurdity of winged 
or flying serpents, is introduced as being an actual fact, in 
order to show that deprivation of their wings reduced them 
to the miserable condition of crawling on their bellies. 

This is only half of the curse, the remainder of it, "and 
c: dust shall thou eat all the days of thy life," bothers the 
lecturer, and he says that it requires a little further exami- 
nation, because " dust " is not the serpent's meat. But 
instead of looking for some other intelligent or subtle 
creature whose natural history would supply the conditions 
required, he rejects this view of the case in favour of another 
mode of applying the curse to the reptilian class, and con- 
tinues his argument thus : — 

iC 'Dust shall thou eat' is one of the best known, and 
" frequently employed of oriental idioms — a form of speech 
" with which all who have read the commonest of oriental 
" tales must be familiar. 

" To eat dust or dirt denotes being humiliated, cast down 
ts from a high position, and placed in one of humiliation. 
" Indeed so common is it, that we have almost introduced it 
<e in a familiar way into our own language. We cannot 
e( refer to any oriental history without meeting some such 
{e expression as this, ( What dirt have I eaten ? ' that is to 
"say, what humiliation have I been subjected to? It is 
" frequently said, 1 1 will make him eat dirt.' I will subject 
" him to some humiliating penance. If, then, this be an 
" ancient orientalism, if it be of such constant occurrence 



MAN AS THE ANTAGONIST OF DEITY. 



47 



w as we find it is, surely we can at once understand the 
f< nature of the curse, c Dust shall thou eat,' that it is, 
ts humiliation shall be thy lot c all the days of thy life.' " 

How true it is that none are blinder than those who won't 
see ! Here we find the lecturer's own solution of the dirt- 
eating riddle, and yet he cannot see the streak of light 
illuminating this sad history, so long bound in the chains of 
impenetrable darkness. 

Dr. Adam Clarke's prodigal expenditure of labour and pains, 
to prove that this " nachasch " could not have been a cobra- 
dicapello, rattlesnake, or boa, is gratefully acknowledged ; but 
not less wonderful is the essayist's own persevering rummage 
of Scripture and Jewish tradition, subsequently given, to 
shew that this subtle (intelligent?) creature was truly a 
crawling serpent, and not actually man himself in the 
character of a priest. 

Nothing but anxiety to establish a foregone conclusion 
could have led Mr. Christmas off the right track, when he 
had his Bible before him to shew the path to be kept in 
threading the maze of the labyrinth. 

The solution of this serpent enigma is given by King 
Solomon in the Ecclesiastes. He says, <( surely the serpent 
" will bite without enchantment, and a babbler is no better." 

A "babbler" clearly signifies one of those TONGUE waggers, 
or book contributors to the theistical tower of babblement or 
babel, that was designed to elevate the human soul above the 
great flooding waters of everlasting oblivion, in which they 
feared to be engulphed with the perishing brutes. When 
we read in the Psalms of these who have sharpened their 
tongues like a serpent, with adder's poison under or between 
their lips, we find it refers to men, and not to serpents or 
evil spirits. 

The current hypothesis, that the serpent seducer was a 
reptile inspired by, or acting as the agent of Satan, an 
evil spirit or principle is not supported by biblical authority. 

Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that Satan was one of 
the fallen angels of God, nowhere is it said that the fallen 
angels became evil spirits. It is true that evil angels are 



48 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



spoken of in the Psalms, but as messengers of disease and 
death from Deity to man. It is recorded in these Psalms 
that Deity makes his* own angels, that is, his messengers 
and sons to be spirits and flaming fire ; but it is an unfounded 
assumption, not warranted by facts, that Deity is said to go 
out of his way to confer these prerogatives upon the adver- 
sary's angels. Lucifer, spoken of in the Old Testament, is 
a man symbolical of the whole race of men, not of evil 
spirits. The phrase, evil spirit is an accommodation to the 
petulant and childish notions of mankind in the infancy cf 
their growth. 

The epithets " serpents," and " generation of vipers," were 
used by both John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, when 
they were roused to expressing indignant scorn and abhor- 
rence of the Jewish Pharisees, scribes, and theologians of 
their day; and when Jesus told his tormentors that their 
claim to be " elect," or sons of God, was a downright lie, he 
told them that they were children of the devil, but he did not 
and could not mean that their forefathers had been generated 
by evil spirits. Every devil in the New Testament turns 
out to have been a derangement of the brain or nervous 
system. The Orientals imagine that all diseases are the 
operation of evil spirits, and thousands, nay millions, have 
fancied themselves possessed by a demon, or an evil spirit. 

In what is known as the Lord's prayer, the evil one is 
evidently the stubborn, self-willing, self-wishing, and seeking 
mind of man, who is the real antagonist, or Satan, of Deity, 
for the prayer of Satan is, " Every man for himself, and 
" God for us all." Here the antithesis between Deity and 
Satan is broadly marked, for self-will is for self, but Deity 
confessedly is not for himself, but for all; thus freely 
surrendering his existence for the commonwealth. The term 
serpent in Genesis, is derived from oriental mythologies, 
where it is a prime agent in all theologies. To this day the 
Hindoos have a notion that the sagacity and long- cherished 
malice of the deadly cobra, or hooded snake, is equal to that 

* The literal Hebrew is : who maketh spirits his messengers ; a flame 
of fire his servants. 



THE TREE OF LIFE IN PARADISE. 



49 



of man himself, and great power, somewhat akin to the gods, 
and greatly superior to men, is attributed to these reptiles. 
Serpents have for ages in all Eastern countries been looked 
upon as mysterious creatures, and have been alternately 
objects of superstitious terror and adoration, for they were 
supposed to be endowed with superhuman power, both 
curative and deadly, and also that they acted as messengers 
of the gods, and were diviners or foretellers of good and evil. 

In addition to the above mentioned illustrations of the 
term serpent, there is the clearly expressed opinion of James, 
in his epistle, that the poisonous tongue of the serpent is 
that of man himself, for he says that this member of man's 
body is an untameable devil, an unruly evil, full of deadly 
poison, defiling the whole body, and setting on fire the whole 
course of natural emotions and ideas, and it is the revelation 
of Satanic mischief. James says that every description of 
beasts, birds, fishes, and even deadly serpents, have been 
tamed, but the lying, accusing, scoffing, cursing, tongue of 
man himself is absolutely untameable, for it is a world of 
iniquity in itself. 

Mr. Christmas then furnishes, in notes, the following 
explanation of the meaning of the allegorical picture of the 
two trees, the one of existence and the other of theistical 
good and evil, that were growing in the garden of Eden. 

" ( Tree of Life.' This was a tree planted in the midst of 
" Paradise, the fruit of which had the power of preserving 
" the life of Adam, if he had continued obedient to the 
" commands of God ; but this tree of life was to him a tree 
" of death, because of his infidelity and disobedience." 

The Bible does not warrant such a gross outrage upon 
logical sense as the above exegesis, that the tree of life was 
also a tree of death. 

The tree of deadly fruit was theology of good and evil, 
a plant of totally different growth. The tree of life and 
immortality has nothing whatever to do with knowledge of 
sacerdotal good and evil. King Solomon says the tree of 
life is "wisdom," or the procreative word of the Eternal, who 
made everything by what he calls the breath or spirit of his 



50 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



mouth ; but with reference to the fruit of the other tree, 
the king speaks in a tone of sovereign contempt, saying : — 
" Fools eat the fruit of their own way, and are filled (blown 
" out like wind bags) with their own devices," that is, their 
own intuitive convictions. Of the theological bricks of the 
Tower of Babblement, the king says: — "Of making books 
" there is no end, and much study of them is a weariness 
" of the flesh." 

To argue that the literal fruit of any tree upon earth ever 
afforded the eaters of it the benefit of immortality, is simply 
to repeat an old Indo-Chinese or Brahminical myth, that 
the " peach " among fruits is the emblem of immortality, 
and that in Hien-Gicn or Paradise, the eaters of peaches 
are preserved from death, the fruit in question being the 
proper life-sustaining food of the immortal soul. 

" 'Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.' Thi> was 
" also planted in the midst of Paradise, and it was forbidden 
" Adam to touch it on pain of death. Gen. ii. 17. 'For 
ct 4 in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.' 
" It is disputed whether the tree of life, and that of know- 
<c ledge of good and evil, might not be the same tree, and 
" opinions are divided thereupon, but that opinion which 
" makes them distinct seems the most probable. Many of 
" the ancients have taken this whole relation of Moses in a 
" figurative sense, and were of opinion that this account 
i( could only be understood as an allegory. St. Austin 
" thought that the virtue of the tree of life and of the 
" knowledge of good and evil, was supernatural and miracu- 
<f lous — others have thought that this virtue was natural to 
" them. According to Philo, the tree of life represents 
" piety, and the tree of knowledge prudence ; God is the 
" foundation of these virtues. The Rabbins tell us very 
" incredible and ridiculous stories concerning the tree of 
" life, it was of prodigious size, and all the waters of the 
" earth gushed out at its foot— one could hardly go round it 
" in five hundred years ; perhaps all this is allegorical, but 
" the secret meaning is hardly worth the trouble of pene- 
" trating into." 



SACERDOTALISM THE TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL. 51 



Indeed ! then how are the fallen angels to be judged ? 
What an extraordinary fact is this undeniable one, that 
frequently the plainest and most straightforward relation of 
simple and self-evident truth, is of all others the most 
difficult for the comprehension of minds carefully trained to 
shoot round corners, and to see any way, or every way but 
straight before them. The Bible teaches that the sagacious 
and intelligent serpent founded his scheme of theistical 
science upon the fruit or teaching of human consciousness 
of good and evil, and yet theologians cannot read this riddle 
because they neither will nor can see that sacerdotalism is 
itself the fruit of this tree of immortality. This effete 
system, the angels of God were expressly cautioned to avoid 
as a deadly lie ; but the woman is first polluted by a priest, 
and subsequently she inoculates her partner with the virus, 
and so they become conscious of the existence of evil as a 
principle in nature, and they are no longer clear minded 
children of natural morality, they are transformed into 
believers in the superior efficacy of super or contra- 
neutralism. The conclusion will be this, that if evil is 
really a vital power or principle in the universe, with which 
natural beings have been impregnated, then mother nature 
must have conceived good from one generator and evil from 
another, and thus actually played the harlot. 

The fall of the first two witnesses or messengers of God 
upon earth, cannot logically be said to imply the fall of the 
entire human race, for they were not all elevated into the 
same conditioned existence; and since they were not all 
made immortals, they could not lose that inheritance to 
which they had no reversionary title, As for any atonement 
by proxy for the fallen angels, it could not have been offered, 
much less accepted. They were left to the judgment they 
had invoked upon themselves, and they were abandoned to 
sacerdotalism for cure of souls, remaining hidden beneath 
the dark pall of impenetrable mystery until the approaching 
judgment of man's effete theology lifts the veil that hides 
the history of the great tragedy from vulgar gaze. 

Knowledge of theistic good and evil, deprived the simple 

E 2 



52 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



children of natural perception, of what painters would call 
"an innocent eye." Their sight was vitiated by artificial 
colouring, and correct judgment was for ever gone. 

The curses denounced against the fallen angels and their 
priestly seducer, are to be understood relatively. To be made 
to work for bread is no absolute curse to those who are 
content to rest satisfied with the benefits of civilization, and 
who like to pass their existence in the mere beaverdom of 
eating, drinking, sleeping, building, slaving, driving and 
working, spending one third of life in unconscious sleep, and 
the rest in the bone-mill round required to support life. But 
such a life as this becomes a great curse, when it is contrasted 
with higher conditions of existence, where it is promised 
that man shall not live by perishing bread alone, only to 
perish himself at last for ever. 

In like manner the curse that befel Eve is relative, and 
has relation to higher conditions of life in that sociological 
science which she and her partner failed to learn and teach. 
Eve was left to her religion, and she remained in the position 
assigned to her by conventional custom of old social ties, 
where woman is made man's inferior, even ascending from 
the lowest tribes, where she does the work of horses, asses, 
and bullocks, up to more civilized communities, where she 
is little beyond chief cook and nurse, or mistress for life, left 
outside the sacred circle of scientific, political, or philo- 
sophical coteries ; for Eve must needs dabble in theological 
morality, which is not that of nature, but of supernatural 
and rival powers of good and evil, by which she is made 
conscious of that peculiarly select class of ethics, which 
makes the specialization of sex in the human races an 
impassable barrier for joint action. So from that elevated 
condition of existence, where what is called the kingdom of 
heavenly life is developed in humanity, and where this 
distinction of sex is ignored, the unhappy priest-polluted 
woman fell. Fell to the level of social laws in civilization, 
where the distinction of sex is jealously maintained as a safe- 
guard of its purity, and where the husband is to all intents 
and purposes his wife's lord and master, and not her equal. 



THE CURSES AT THE FALL IN EDEN. 53 

The conventional interpretation of part of Eve's misfortune, 
is to the effect that she was burdened with sorrow and pain 
in child-birth; but science demonstrates that all natural 
processes are analagous to gestation, and that sorrow and 
sensational effects called pain, are inherent in all parturition 
efforts, so that Eve's curse is relative to a higher condition of 
existence which she lost at her fall. 

The curse pronounced upon the serpent and his tribe has 
not yet been fully carried into final execution. This is 
unavoidably left until the great day of judgment upon 
sacerdotalism, when the head of this Goliah, that is the mind, 
power of man, assumed by theologians to be immortal or 
divine, is subjected to the touchstone of truth in the grasp or 
sling of the son of man, specially commissioned or anointed 
for the execution of this final judgment. 

No greater curse could be pronounced upon mankind 
than this one of abandoning them to their own conjured up 
phantom of theistic evil. To what abject slavery has not 
superstition reduced men in all past ages? Priests have 
manacled the limbs of vigorous thought and speech. Ever 
in alliance with the frauds of selfish and despotic tyrants, 
they have trampled upon and crushed out the very lives of 
their abject slaves. 

The great Juggernautal car of sacerdotalism has left a 
highway strewn with the mangled and bleeding corpses of 
its miserable victims* but willing victims it must be owned, 
for priestly rule is only possible where the great body of the 
laity are fetish worshippers, that is, where they kotou to the 
great idol of selfishness or self-will, and where they are for 
ever seeking substitutes to relieve them of the burden of 
sacrificing that self upon the altar of duty to be done; 
where they seek, by miraculous interpositions of their 
fickle gods, to turn aside the consequences of these inevi- 
table and predestined arrangements to which they ought 
piously to submit; where they seek by incantations or 
repeating prayers, by singing, fiddling, howling, and frantic 
gesticulations; by asceticism, maiming their bodies, and 
other religious ceremonies, to avert the anger, or engage 



54 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



the affection of deities, whoni they would have to be as 
capricious, as petulant, as perverse, as childish, as ignorant, 
and as vindictive and self-willed as themselves. 

But to return to the Rev. Mr. Christmas' lectures. 
Chronological difficulties are attempted to be overcome in 
the following ingenious style : — 

" Let it be observed, too, that there are not a few 
" difficulties thrown in our way by chronology; for while 
" we have the chronology of Moses perfectly clear and 
" intelligible, and so intelligible, as we have already said, 
" that we must either accept the chronology or deny 
" the authority of the book, still we know that there are 
" many oriental systems of chronology which appear to have 
" been calculated with very great accuracy, and to have 
u been very closely and scientifically investigated, which, 
" while they tally in many important parts with that of 
" Moses, do not in all. For instance, there is the Hindoo 
" chronology, which results from astronomical observations, 
" made by men far more competent to decide than any of 
" the Hindoos of the present time, insomuch so, that these 
" moderns cannot understand or verify them ; we find those 
" very observations tracing up astronomical phenomena 
" to a far remoter period than that assigned by Moses to the 
" creation of the world ; but then this may be accounted for 
" by their having made what may be called back reckonings. 

" ( ! ) and to a certain extent, the same is the case 

" with regard to the Chinese chronology, this extends many 
" thousand years past that of Moses." 

Since these chronological discrepancies are difficulties of 
the clergy's own making, they may safely be allowed the use 
of such absurd hypothesis as " back reckonings " to lay the 
" hobgoblins" so conjured up by themselves. In the first 
place, there is no sound evidence that Moses was the author 
or editor of the collection of writings bound into one book 
called Genesis, and in the second place, there is no pretence 
in the book to give chronological accounts of the universe, 
nor of man's creation; the curtain draws up before the 
diorama of paradise, and the act commences with the tragedy 



PROF. BADEN POWELL'S PHILOSOPHY OF CREATION. 55 

of the angel's fall, the descriptive scenery is not that of the 
genesis of the entire universe, but of the birth of the 
children of God among men and women, who might have 
lived on earth for thousands of years prior to their appear- 
ance. 

The lecturer yields up the scientific ghost in the following 
fashion : — 

" The Book of God is not intended to teach us science, it 
" is intended simply to lead us into the paths of holiness ; 
" and although we have a right to expect that whenever we 
(e find any allusion to scientific subjects, any account of 
" cosmogony, or any topics which are connected with physical 
" research, that that account shall be the truth, yet we are 
" not to expect that there shall be given to us all the truth, 
" neither is all necessary for carrying out the purposes for 
" which the book was written." 

But the clergy have claimed to possess infallible knowledge 
of the only true purpose for which this book was written, 
and this causes the controversy between their particular 
interpretation and the secularists of natural science; the 
latter deny the right of the former to make science suit 
their cobbling, patching, and mending of worn out sacer- 
dotal shoes; secularists assert, that science flatly and 
incontestibly contradicts the washy logic of what is called 
biblical science, and that the statements of the writers 
themselves, shew that the Bible is only a negative revela- 
tion, and is only true under certain conditions, which 
conditions it does not itself supply, and consequently is a 
sealed book to the clergy themselves who are not in a right 
condition to read it correctly. 

Professor Baden Powell, in his "Essays on the Spirit of 
e{ the Inductive Philosophy, Unity of Worlds, and Philosophy 
" of Creation," says : — 

" It is a mere refuge and confession of ignorance and 
" indolence to imagine special interruptions, and to abandon 
" reason for mysticism." 

" If we say that every event or effect must have a cause, 
* we can only mean that every species of phenomena belongs 



56 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



" to a class more comprehensive, that class again to one 
" higher still, and so we go onwards to ultimate physical 
" principles of the whole universe; but this touches not 
u upon the idea of a supreme moral cause." 

The professor evidently means a supreme or theological 
first cause. This fact so candidly confessed that the universe 
appears to be materially omnipotent, and that it does not 
disclose to man the secret of Deity is the pleading of 
atheism. The professor's notion of atheism, however, is 
rather vague, for he asserts in another part of this same 
book: — 

" Nothing is invariable in nature but laws ; atheism makes 
" laws the rule, and Deity the exception." 

This is hardly fair, for the arguments between theist and 
atheist are contained in that theory of creation which 
underlies all religious differences. It is the vicious babit of 
postulating Deity as an immaterial mind, analogous to what 
the mind of man himself is, or rather is assumed to be, that 
confuses philosophers in all their efforts to produce an 
intelligible and logical system of the philosophy of existence. 
Once make man come down from his great babel tower that 
he has piled up to reach immortality, and theistical babble- 
ment will cease. Professor Powell does not say where he 
obtained his idea of atheism, which he seems to regard as an 
absolute negation of any possible concept of Deity, instead 
of its being a protest against the loose, illogical, and contra- 
dictory statements of crude philosophers and superstitious 
minds. In another part of this same book the essayist 
asserts: — 

" The spiritual is beyond the province of physical 
" philosophy and belongs to faith, and finds its expression in 
<f the language of inspiration." 

With respect to man's appearance upon this planet, the 
professor remarks : — 

" The relation between the animal man and the moral and 
" spiritual world, resembles the diamond in the native quarry, 
" and the same mounted in the polarising apparatus of 
" philosophy. The difference is not in the physical nature ; 



PROFESSOR POWELL ON ATHEISM AND PANTHEISM. 57 

" but in investing that nature with new and higher appli- 
" cation. Continuity with the material world remains the 
" same ; but a new relation is developed in it, kindled with 
" celestial fire. 

" It is a mistake to connect notions of man's spiritual 
" nature with animal part. The latter must be viewed as 
" part of the same physical development and system as the rest 
" of the animal creation. This spiritual nature cannot be 
f affected by physical considerations, therefore the whole idea 
" of pantheism is utterly preposterous, is a mystical fancy of 
ee most perplexing and unintelligible nature, involving con- 
" tradictions of the grossest kind." 

The essayist must mean that material pantheism that 
makes mother earth the procreator as well as maternal 
former of all her offspring. We are told that it is a mistake 
to connect spiritual with physical development ; but we are 
not told how they are to be kept separate. 

" In proportion as man's moral superiority is not held to 
" consist in attributes of a material and corporeal kind or 
" origin, it can signify little how his physical nature may 
" have originated. The battle of evidences will have to 
" be fought on the field of physical science. 

" The present belief in the origin of man, geologically 
" speaking, depends on negative evidence. There seems no 
" reason, upon any good analogy, why human remains might 
" not be found in deposits corresponding to periods immensely 
" more remote than commonly supposed, when the earth was 
" in all respects equally well fitted for human habitation. 
" And if such remains occur, it is equally accordant with 
" analogy to expect that these may be of extinct and lower 
" species. It is perfectly conceivable that a lower species of 
" the human race might have existed destitute of spiritual 
" and moral endowments. Development begins with lowest 
" forms, and advances by gradual steps to the highest, until 
" in the most recent periods a creature was produced, in 
" which self-conscious knowledge was revealed." 

The long-sustained interest that thinking people take in 
the debate concerning the preservation and extinction of 



58 



THE BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETERS. 



species, by the modus operandi of mother nature's processes, 
recently designated as the "means of natural selection" is due 
to the apprehended overthrow of long cherished ideas 
respecting man's origin, and the date and mode of his first 
appearance upon this planet. The experience and teaching 
of secular science is not in favour of new constructions. It 
maintains that species are permanent only so long as certain 
peculiar external conditions remain the same; but that 
after a certain period a change appears, corresponding to 
those in external circumstances, and it is further contended 
that the introduction of a new species is not a solitary 
occurrence, but a fact that makes its appearance repeatedly and 
constantly in the lapse of ages. At the furthest, this new 
species is but part of a series, manifesting a regular or timed 
phenomenal process called law, and constitutes part of a 
regularly pre-arranged evolution of new organized beings 
out of former conditions. The new species are subject to the 
same pre-arranged law as any case of ordinary reproduction, 
and generate the concept of special and distinct attributes or 
characters, inherited from parents. Species, it is said, involves 
not only the consideration of type, but of descent. There is 
no necessity for any exhibition of pious fright at the progress 
of that philosophy which demonstrates that man is no excep- 
tion to the great plan of natural growth and development; 
and it does not follow, that because there is nothing to 
connect man with the quadrumana, that the human races have 
therefore a claim to supernatural origin and a special creation. 

Even if the idea of progressive development in any single 
line of ascent from lower orders must be abandoned, it does 
not necessarily follow that every attempt to account philo- 
sophically for true progressive advance in the order of nature 
is to be scouted as dangerous and profane. The Bible itself 
asserts that man is, relatively to iDeity and immortality, no 
better than the beasts that perish ; and when these Scriptures 
speak of immortality, they do not apply this prerogative to 
man, but to a higher race of beings, of which man is only 
the embryo (the grub or chrysalis) in the womb of natural 



processes. 



59 



CHAPTER IV. 

PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 

Can Deity be so defined as to be comprehended by the 
human mind ? To define in a comprehensive form is to limit, 
it is to abstract something from that one great existence of 
which the defining or conceiving mind is itself a part. So that 
if definition necessarily implies limitation, and Deity must be 
infinite, then, as an unlimited entity, he cannot be compre- 
hensively defined. Not only does an infinite Being defy 
explicit definition for comprehension, but the human mind 
cannot conceive the existence of an infinite entity whose 
identified unity is postulated as distinct from the infinite 
multiplicity of related entities in the universe. The grada- 
tion from finite to infinite is itself an infinite procession of 
relationship ; and the infinite must absorb, in its existence of 
unity, every mode of related and conditioned entity in the 
cosmos; and thus the infinite means the unity of indefinite 
or infinite multiplicity. One universal Parent, existing in 
plurality of offspring, as defined by J esus Christ, appears by 
the law of identity in the logic of the absolute to be no way 
opposed to the spirit of Benedict Spinoza's philosophy. 
Spinoza imagined the infinite entity of Deity to be that 
great existence which possessed the sovereign prerogative of 
begetting, per se, in the mind, the conception of it being in 
itself the cause, in an absolute sense, of everything. 

Such self-existence as this would necessarily include in 
itself every entity, and preclude the possibility of any pre- 
ceding entity to have caused, created, or generated it; so 



60 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



that it is necessarily, per se, the alpha and omega of every 
thing in that endless chain of being that has neither begin- 
ning nor end, because it is a circle of eternal, self-existing 
vitality, that ends where it began. 

Baron Bunsen derided the puerile fears of conventional 
theists, that Spinoza's doctrines would eventually land the 
human mind in the trackless wilderness of positive netheism. 
Bunsen is reported to have expressed himself satisfied that 
Spinoza's doctrine would pave the way for the advance of a 
more comprehensive philosophy than that narrow sectarian 
dogmatism, which more than anything tends to drive men to 
netheistic conclusions, inasmuch as it is the idea of a secta- 
rian, partial, and one-sided Providence that adds fuel to the 
fire of polemical strife. The atheist's argument is, that 
nature does not indicate the existence of infinite mental 
attributes; and that, even supposing they did exist, the 
domain of human knowledge is not co-extensive with univer- 
sal existence, and that pure being, as it exists per se, is not 
an objective reality that can affect human consciousness: 
because, whatever such absolute or unconditioned entity 
might think, or say, or do, human consciousness could not 
and would not mind it, and thus, to all intents and purposes, 
so far as that human mind was concerned, it would be just as 
though it did not exist at all. 

Pure or absolute and unconditioned being transcends all 
phenomenal existence, and can only be cognised as it exists 
in relation ; since all that the human mind knows of entities 
is as they are related to it, and not as they exist in themselves 
out of relation. Sir William Hamilton admits this, and 
teaches that the human faculties are not competent to possess 
actual and immediate knowledge of the infinite and absolute, 
because all cognition exists in and by consciousness, and this 
is only possible within the limits and under the conditions of 
difference, multiplicity, and relation ; and from this it must 
follow that human consciousness can only be the echo of 
conditioned, phenomenal, and finite causation, and that there 
is no calculable progress possible for the mind, save in the 
cosmical kingdom of the relative and conditioned. 



LOCKE ON LOGICAL PROBABILITIES. 



61 



The supernatural domain of the absolute and unconditioned 
had better be left as an unenclosed common, or as waste land 
for the pasturing of such stray creatures as relish browsing 
upon the thistles of transcendental mysteries of the Sweden- 
borgian class. 

The conclusion, then, is, that the infinite Deity can only 
be cognised as he exists in relation) and thus all revelation to 
man must have a positive and negative duality, necessitated 
in that material embodiment that invariably presents this 
bifold aspect since its personification in definite and calculable 
conditions of existence. 

No one can deny that the great law of identity reigns 
paramount in logic ; but the dry rules of syllogistic logic, 
applied to unconditioned abstractions, prove after all but a 
barren study, possessing little interest for those who seek to 
apply the inexorable logic of the facts of every day life, 
which is concerned in and about the how, the why, and the 
wherefore of phenomenal and conditioned relations — for it is 
perceived that the great rule of absolute identity wholly 
fails to account satisfactorily for the relationship of infinitely 
diversified natural phenomena. 

Logic is the science of probabilities, and therefore 
relatively a higher and wider study than mathematics. 
Geometrical reasoning must be exerted in studying proba- 
bilities, but this science begins only just where mathematics 
leaves off. Locke, in his " Conduct of the Understanding," 
section 7, concludes the first paragraph on this subject by 
saying, " In proofs of probability, one such (mathematical) 
" train is not enough to settle the judgment as in demon- 
" strative knowledge." Locke's argument in this section 
upon the inferiority of mathematics to the science of pro- 
babilities is clenched again in his 42nd section, on "Fallacies," 
where he says, "Right understanding consists in the dis- 
" covery and adherence to truth, and that in the perception 
" of the visible or probable agreement of ideas, as they are 
" affirmed or denied one of another." The highest art of 
analogical reasoning is not capable of demonstration, and 
therefore must be submitted to this train of probabilities. 



62 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



In his 31st section, Locke remark? — "Knowledge consists 
" only in perceiving the habitudes and relation of ideas one 
" to another, which is done without words, the intervention 
" of sound helps nothing to it." The essayist quotes Lord 
Bacon in his preface to the " Novum Organum," to the 
effect that the old scholastic rule of logic falls very far short 
in educating the understanding in the real phenomena of 
nature, for grasping at what is beyond its reach, it has served 
to confirm and establish errors, rather than open a way to 
truth ; but he still insists upon the practice of analogical 
reasoning according to logical probabilities. 

In analogical reasoning we are not to assume that because 
the relation is similar in one or two particulars or qualities, 
it is necessarily absolutely the same in all resemblances 
throughout. The Aristotleans held that explicit q antifica- 
tion of the predicate was not possible. On the other hand, 
Sir William Hamilton contends that it is a postulate of logic 
to state explicitly what is thought implicitly, and that as the 
predicate has always a quantity of extension in thought, as 
much as the subject, therefore in logic the quantity of the 
predicate ought always to be stated, for there is a necessity 
in all cases for thinking the predicate at least as extensive 
as the subject, but whether it be absolutely (that is out of 
relation,) MORE extensive is generally of no consequence. 

Sir W. Hamilton says that it is of no consequence generally 
whether the predicate is in its absolute sense " more exten- 
" sive " than the subject, but this is surely to be abandoned 
in reference to the debated question of divine attributes. 
Else how is any revelation of the infinite possible ? The 
inexorable logic of facts in this case limits the application of 
this rule. For the explicit quantification or definition of 
predicated attributes is impossible in nature, whose plan 
throughout its length and breadth generates the conceptions 
of hierarchies of rank, and everywhere negatives the idea of 
equality, for it speaks of superior and inferior, positive and 
negative. 

Every entity has this positive and negative relation. 
Nothing is good or evil per se, it is only good in reference 



SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON'S LOGIC. 



63 



to what is worse, and bad in relation to what is better ; thus 
qualities of comprehension are adjectives that are included 
in the mean between positive and superlative. Nouns, sub- 
stantives, numerators, or quantities of extension, scarcely 
carry full weight'in concepts for everyday logic, without the 
superadding of certain adjectives or attributes as quantities 
for assisting the identifying process. Ordinary language 
may endeavour to quantify the extension of the predicate, 
but can it explicitly state the quantity of full comprehension? 

For according to the Bible the revelation of Deity has 
only been possible in a " negative " form, that is, through the 
relation of a definite Son to the infinite, absolute, and other- 
wise unknown paternal Deity. 

Now the predicated paternity of an infinite Deity, in this 
revelation of the subject as a son, cannot, as it exists abso- 
lute and infinite, be comprehensively defined or explicitly 
quantified, either in reference to quantities of extension or 
of attributes, even although Sir William Hamilton's stipu- 
lated necessity be granted, that the predicate here must be 
as extensive as the subject, for out of relation as absolute it 
must undoubtedly be incalculably more extensive. Therefore 
an explicit definition, both as to quantity of extension and 
comprehension, that is, of every particular in the predicated 
attributes of Deity cannot possibly be given, because such 
definition would be tantamount to a limitation of the infinite 
Father to the inferior quantity of the Son as a conditioned 
and relative subject. The logical problem in probabilities, 
respecting the infinite attributes of Deity, is inextricably 
involved in this very question as to the predicate being 
absolutely and infinitely more extensive than the subject, 
which Hamilton asserts is generally of no consequence. 

In conventional theologies deity is always postulated as a 
first cause, that is as a solitary initial cause ; whereas as he is 
revealed he is distinctly said to be both first and final cause. 
That is, the circle of existence ends where it began, and thus 
the last is first, and the first is last. Thus there is no first 
cause in the sense of theistical ambiguity, because universal 
existence, per se, is an endless cause that includes Alpha 



64 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



and Omega, first and last : therefore, in studying the problem 
of existence, the human mind must look to the end to meet 
the return of the beginning or genesis, since all circles end 
where they began. 

Science has utterly failed to demonstrate the existence of 
such a monstrous or unnatural existence as a human being 
living as an immaterial breath or spirit, totally independent 
of a material organization ; science maintains that man lives 
by that vital force or spirit that is inseparably connected 
with material processes, and therefore man is as truly and as 
absolutely as other creatures, dependent upon the indissoluble 
tie that binds matter and vital or imponderable force or 
spirit, in one homogeneous nature. In other words, that the 
vital spirit in the atmosphere, and elsewhere in material 
processes, which supports all organized beings, is not to be 
separated from material conditions, for matter and imponder- 
able force arc one nature, as truly to man as to all other 
creatures who can exist only by their intimate, indissoluble, 
and eternal connection ; man, therefore, cannot exist as a dis- 
embodied ghost, for this is a monstrous and unnatural 
divorce of the marriage of the primary eternal parents of 
and in the universe. Whatever mind and matter might have 
been before the word of generation, which begot nature as 
its offspring, and impregnated material atoms as ova of vital 
processes, this making nature the fertile mother of all living 
beings, man has no power to look back to, for it is ante- 
cedent to the genesis or beginning of nature. Man must 
face eternity one way only, since the human mind is not con- 
stituted to fathom the bottomless ocean of the eternal past. 
Man's grasp of the infinite is bounded by this beginning or 
genesis of material consciousness. The eternity of the past 
is not within range of human vision, for it is outside of those 
conditions or relations that make the phenomena of the 
universe cognisable. 

Mental perspective must necessarily be forward into 
eternity, since eternal life is a flux forwards, not backwards ; 
and thus eternal life for the begotten sons is but another 
name for the indefinite or infinite extension of the eternal 



HUMAN DISREGARD OF ORDAINED CONDITIONS. 65 



now. It cannot be a flux of life passed into other arrange- 
ments of the universe. Therefore the effort to grasp both 
ends of the infinite and eternal, or to separate or divorce 
immaterial mind from matter, is an insane attempt to effect 
what king Solomon asserted was impossible, and that is to 
number the thing that is wanting, or not in existence, or to 
turn into a straight line that which God has ordained to be 
eternally moving in a circle. 

As the divine word of generation has for ever established 
the indissoluble union between mind and matter, the two 
have been begotten one phenomenal nature, and thus only 
by their duality, or mutual relationship, can life be sustained. 
Yet notwithstanding this, man, in his ignorant impatience of 
wisely ordained material conditions, has despised and ignored 
all natural phenomena, and seeking to divorce what has been 
for ever united, he claims immortal, that is self-existent life 
upon the basis of his theological creeds and catechism of 
absolute good and evil principles, outraging all natural 
morality by substituting a bastard class of speculative meta- 
physical misconcepts, as crude, childish, and petulant as they 
are illogical and unphilosophical. The priest argues that if 
a material organization is absolutely essential for life and 
psychical action, then immortality, or eternal self-existence, is 
hopeless. Dr. Morell, arguing for the immortality of the 
immaterial soul of man, when he is editing Fichte's metaphy- 
sical works, speaks to this effect : — 

" When dependence of mind upon body is made absolute, 
" I cannot conceive that any mind much accustomed to 
" logical consecutiveness can hold the doctrine of a life here- 
" after with any real tenacity." 

Now the real significance of the resurrection of Jesus of 
Nazareth consists in the fact that he was not a disembodied 
ghost after his rising again from the tomb he was laid in. 
He appeared as an angel of light, that is he was a magnetic 
being, or angel possessing an osseous, muscular, and nervous 
system, without being blood-sustained. The involuntary 
system was gone. 

If sacerdotal mysticism has misled its students, it remains 

F 



66 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



for the science of naturalism or cosmism to guide men back 
to the lost track. The present design, however, is to show 
that immaterialism is not the teaching of the Bible, but that 
on the contrary, the heathen dogma of the soul's immor- 
tality is therein controverted, — and if this metaphysical 
misconcept upon which all theologies are based, be shewn to 
be false, then there will not remain one stone upon another 
of the great ecclesiastical temple; down it must all come 
tumbling headlong into the mud sooner or later, leaving 
nothing but a rn^antic mound of rubbish and calcined 
bricks, to mark the site of ancient mystical Babylon, the 
mother of harlotry or false doctrine, fallen, for ever fallen, 
with all its fetish gods and goddesses, big, little, and middle 
sized; painted, graven, pictured, and written, — flat to the 
ground. 

This marvellously constructed sacerdotal edifice, with its 
bloody sacrificial atonements, its purifications, purgations, 
signs, or sacraments ; its standards, baptisms, fingerings, head- 
rubbings, confessions, absolutions, unctions, together with all 
ecclesiastical penances, plasters, and pills powerfully stoma- 
chic and mildly aperient, will fall with this gratuitously 
assumed dogma of the immortality of the immaterial human 
soul ; for when man, as Lucifer, the star of the morning, 
falls, he must have all his bag and baggage shot out of the 
temple along with him. 

To return to the Hebrew canonical scriptures. Here is 
king Solomon, admitted to be, by repute, the wisest 
monarch that ever lived to be recorded in the chronicles of 
the Jewish history. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, chap- 
ter 3rd:— 

" I said in mine heart, concerning the estate (condition ?) 
" of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, (or 
a clear their vision to perceive) and that they might see 
" that they themselves are beasts, for that which befalleth 
" the sons of men befalleth beasts, even one thing befalleth 
" them, as the one dieth so dieth the other, yea they have 
" all one j ^™^ or j so that a man hath no pre-eminence over a 
<e beast, for all is vanity — all go unto one place — all are of 



THE ECCLESIASTES OP KING SOLOMON. 67 



f< the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the 
" spirit of the sons of men that goeth upward, and the spirit 
" of the beast that goeth downward to the earth." 

To anyone not trained by theologians to shirk the true 
meaning of the words, the sense is plain, past all controversy, 
that man is no better off, in respect of self-existent or 
eternal life, than the perishing beasts; but to show how 
tenaciously theologians cling to traditional readings and 
false interpretations of scripture, the following comment, by 
one {f Wells," on this passage, found in a marginal column of 
notes and references in a Bible, will serve to exhibit the 
valuable nature of clerical commentaries in general, and 
the marvellous erudition of this sapient commentator in 
particular. 

Wells says : — • 

" The sense may be, how few men live as if they knew 
f€ that the soul of man is immortal, and that when the body 
(e dies, it goeth upward to God to be judged by him ; and 
<{ that the spirit of the beast dying with the body and going 
et downward, utterly perishes." 

What a wonderful display of theological erudition is here ! 
How many years might a poor fellow require to rummage 
the meanderings of the fathers, the grandfathers, and grand- 
mothers of ante and post-diluvian churches, to attain to the 
polished point of profoundly critical acumen, which enabled 
this commentator to interpret King Solomon's meaning as he 
has here rendered it. 

Wells commences by remarking, " The sense may be." He 
should have said, " The theological sense may be " so and so, 
for really there is no possibility of saying what the theological 
sense of the passage may be, nor yet what that sense might 
be, or could be, or should be, or would be, for the fact is 
plainly this, that the theological sense may be anything that 
the expounders of the shasters choose to make it, but the 
simple question for sensible folks is just this, What is the 
sense of this passage ? Wells, as we have just seen, comes 
to the wonderful theological conclusion that the sense of 
what King Solomon says is precisely the reverse of what he 

f 2 



68 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



has written ! Wells asserts that Solomon means that it is 
only the material body of man that dies, while his spirit is 
immortal, whereas both body and spirit of the beast are 
perishable. But to straightforward readers it is plain that 
Solomon does not come forward with the evidence that 
special pleader Wells puts into his mouth; king Solomon 
does not say that the living spirit of the beast perishes at all, 
any more or in any other sense than the soul of man perishes. 
What Solomon says is, that the living spirit or soul of 
both man and beast is the same ; that is to say, it is the 
spirit of Deity, and the king says that when a creature dies, 
be that creature man or be that creature beast, the body 
returns to mother earth or dust, out of which it was 
organized, and then the soul, being the breath or spirit of 
God that animates it, returns to him, or tQ God who gave it. 

If, therefore, the soul of the brute beast is the breath or 
spirit of the Eternal, it cannot be said to perish with the 
body of the beast when it dies, for it is manifestly false to 
assert that the omnipresent spirit of life can perish. At the 
death of the beast, just as in the case of man's decease, the 
spirit continues immortal as it ever was, and is, and will be; 
for it is reabsorbed in the divine omnipresence, but the 
creature has perished, because it was absolutely dependent 
upon a material organization, vital force in organic life being 
a phenomena of material process or gestation, and this is 
inherently necessary in the constitution of nature. 

King Solomon does not say that the soul of man is im- 
mortal, while the soul of the beast is mortal; the former 
going upward to God, while the latter goes downward to the 
earth. He says distinctly that man is a beast, and only a 
beast, because both man and beast have all one and the same 
living breath, or soul of life ; consequently, man has no pre- 
eminence over a beast, but is a mammalian animal, and 
nothing more. Man and beast perish alike, and all go to one 
and the self-same place, that is, all go to hell, or to the ever- 
lasting tomb, and the wise king asks, Who knows that the 
spirit of man goes upwards, and the spirit of the beast goes 
downward to the earth ? To this, theologian Wells replies 



THEOLOGICAL COMMENTARIES ON THE BIBLE. 69 

that he knows, and that man's spirit goes upward to God, 
to be judged, and that the beast's spirit goes to annihilation. 

How WelJs obtains this knowledge he does not say. He 
might plead intuitive or innate conviction, but then certain 
savans are intuitively convinced that pigs can see the wind ! 
How the internal spiritual light that theologians boast of 
possessing, can lead to such loose, contradictory, illogical, 
rambling, shambling, and slip-shod ideas as sacerdotalists 
have ever expressed, and maintained to be the prompting 
of a divine inflatus, is really too abstruse a problem to be 
readily solved. The fact, however, appears to be that Wells's 
comment upon Solomon is mere tradition; the doctor or 
proctor of theology has read or heard some similar opinion, 
and he palms this off as a vis divina guiding him. 

From the Psalms of king David we glean the same 
doctrine, namely, that man is a mortal creature, perishing for 
ever at death, like a cow, or a sheep. King David asserts 
positively, and emphatically, that there is no remembrance 
by God of dead men, for he is the God of the living only, 
and not of the dead. When hell is spoken of it means the 
grave, for hell, and the grave, are synonyms or mutually 
convertible terms, and the grave of hell, or hell of the grave, 
invariably means the bottomless pit of eternal death or anni- 
hilation. Thus the sorrows of hell, and snares of death, are 
used as synonyms, so the punishment, or sorrow of hell, is 
everlasting death, not everlasting life in pain. When the 
inherited estate of the sons of God is spoken of as a deliver- 
ance from the power of the grave, it means deliverance from 
man's condemnation to eternal death. If the grave has no 
power of retaining its grasp, but is, in a theological aspect, 
the door to eternal life, then deliverance from the power of 
the grave is a gross contradiction of logical sense, and is thus 
no deliverance at all, but is an unhappy interference with a 
most desirable consummation ; because if the grave of death 
is actually a door to eternal life, it must logically follow, that 
deliverance from the grave is deliverance from the entrance 
into the desired house of eternal self-existent life. 

It seems, however, that we do wrong in accusing theo- 



70 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



logians of having the slightest regard for logic. Mr. Isaac 
Taylor has published an Essay on the subject of "Logic in 
" Theology? and repudiates, with undisguised alarm, any such 
profane intrusion into the consecrated domain of sacerdotal 
mysticism. He predicts nothing less than the recurrence of 
a frightful deluge of blasphemy, atheism, and pantheistic 
materialism, if logical argument be permitted in scriptural 
interpretation, so that sacerdotalists are students, not of 
logical, but of theo or metalogical science. 

King David speaks of the process of divine generation by 
quoting and recording the word received from the messenger 
of the eternal Father, thus, "I have said (the word of 
" generation) ye are gods." This is the Alpha and Omega 
of the material universe incarnate in men as sons of God, 
and to those thus begotten by the word of generation, there 
is to be inherited the paternal estate of eternal life. For as 
the Father is self-existent, having life in himself, so his off- 
spring are self-existences; but the antithesis marked by king 
David to this first part of the declaration is remarkable. 
The words are, " But ye shall die like men." Now as God is 
the Father of the living, and not of the dead, it follows 
logically, (not Geologically certainly,) that there is no God of 
man, for he is not the God of the dead, and if men die they 
are mortals, and not immortals, or sons of the self-existent 
and eternal Father. 

In Psalm lxxxviii we are told that God has neither care 
for, nor remembrance of the dead, who are thus cut off from 
his hand, that he will not show his wonders to the dead ; and 
further, it is said to be impossible that the dead should arise 
and praise him, God's loving- kindness cannot be declared in 
the grave, nor his faithfulness in destruction and the land of 
forgetfulness. 

The absolutely destructive or annihilative power of the 
grave or hell, is illustrated by referring to the perishable 
nature of grass, which when cut down is withered before 
night, and 'perished for evermore. In another place the illus- 
tration used is that of the fat of animals burnt up by the 
action of a fierce fire ; again, we are told that when a man's 



man's destiny accokding to job and king dayid. 71 



breath goeth forth, in that day all his thoughts perish. King 
David makes use of the metaphor of hell fire to denote a 
process of burning up, that utterly consumes, not a fire that 
preserves, and he says, man that understands not the truth 
of eternal regeneration is no better than the beasts that 
perish. 

In the book of Job we find it stated, that the grave, or 
hell, consumes the dead just as the floods of water decay 
and are dried up by evaporation, that men lie down and 
never rise again, and shall never be awakened out of their 
eternal sleep of death. Job asserts, that if a tree be cut 
down, and its roots are left in the earth, there is hope of its 
sprouting again, but not so of man cut down. Man, he 
says, shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the 
tomb, and also that this grave consumes those that have 
sinned, just as the drought {and heat of summer consumes 
the snow waters. " As the clouds are consumed and vanish 
" away, so he that descends into the grave shall rise up no 
" more." The warning given by all the prophets, or messen- 
gers of God, to the Hebrews is to the effect, that all mankind, 
or all flesh, is as perishable as the grass and flowers in the 
fields. Isaiah asks, what is man to be accounted of, whose 
vital breath, or spirit, is by inspiration, or in his nostrils ? 
King Hezekiah says, " The grave cannot praise God, death 
" cannot celebrate him, they who go down to the pit, (hell 
" of the grave,) cannot hope for his truth. The living alone 
" shew forth thy praise." 

As for Jeremiah, so far from endorsing the teaching of 
those who base morality upon man's free or self-will, as 
responsible for absolute good and evil, he says emphatically 
in chapter x, 23rd verse, " O Lord I know that the way of 
" man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to 
" direct his steps." 

So that the very worst guide any man could possibly have, is 
this theological misconcept of freedom of will, that is as eman- 
cipated from the government of over-ruling eternal providence. 
Indeed the punishment of the wicked and contumacious in 
the Old Testament scriptures, is said to be abandoning them 



72 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



to their own devices, or the intuitive convictions of their 
own minds, leaving them to exercise their boasted freedom 
of will. Theologians contend that God's moral laws do not 
operate in producing effects in the same latent, but unceas- 
ingly active way that material processes do ; but Isaiah says, 
that the will of the Eternal accomplishes its inscrutable pre- 
purposed designs just in the same way that rain, dew, and 
snow descend and water the ground, giving seed to the 
sower, and bread to the eater. 

When the more recent scriptures in Greek are referred to, 
we find Trinitarians accusing Unitarian theologians of de- 
fective scholarship, while on the other hand Dr. Channing, a 
Unitarian theist, contends that " The apostles wrote in a 
te very peculiar dialect of the Greek language, and the 
<c precise import of their words frequently eludes even the 
" most learned." 

In another place he says : — 

" No book is so badly explained as this Bible. Men are 
" reconciled to superficial modes of thinking in religion 
" which they would scorn in any other subject ; such 
" truths are shadowy and unreal. Faith is traditional, 
" lifeless, and superficial, not deliberate and profound con- 
" viction." 

Dr. Channing is not far wrong in saying that the dialect 
of Greek in which the New Testament is written is " very 
" peculiar," for it is the " Tim Bobbin " of that tongue ; and 
to make matters worse, it is plain, from the caution given by 
John in his Revelations, that no small amount of patching 
and mending was going on in the work of writing and mul- 
tiplying manuscript copies. This colouring up and toning 
down is evidenced here and there by critical scholarship, 
which has exposed the glaring fact of some amount of 
forgery, and indicated the possibility of a further " stock " 
not yet "taken." If the main facts in this new Greek 
testament be conceded to be true, the same cannot be 
allowed for theological inferences, said to have been drawn 
by eye witnesses, of some of these facts. The Greek must 
be corroborated by the Hebrew, so that wherever and when- 



FORGERIES IN THE GREEK SCRIPTURES. 



73 



ever the former is contradicted by the latter, then it ought 
certainly to be suspected, or actually rejected, as being evi- 
dently the work of what theologians call " pious fraud ! " for 
in the very earliest days of the church its dykes had given 
way, and the land was made a vast swamp of rushes and 
worthless weeds by the bursting in of the muddy waters of 
rabbinical and oriental mysticism. No sooner was the true 
grain sown, than side by side with this good seed -wheat, the 
tares were scattered broadcast over the same soil, and both 
wheat and tares are left to grow up side by side, until the 
messenger of judgment thrusts in his sickle for the harvest. 

Truth, it is said, lies at the bottom of a well, and is not to 
be brought to the top by mere bawling for it. The great 
secret of man's destiny lay in the grave, and Jesus of 
Nazareth went down into the grave to bring that secret 
to light. He did not confine himself to preaching, praying, 
or psalm singing his mission, he acted it, for true religion is 
action, or the faith of active obedience. By Jesus' death 
and subsequent resurrection the truth of the children's 
inheritance of immortality in a material body was rescued 
from the vague, illogical, ill taught, and loosely held specu- 
lations of empirical metaphysicians, and made a positive, 
material, scientific, or natural fact. 

Jesus' claim to be the anointed Son of the eternal Father, 
was not theologically maintained, for if it had been, the 
Jewish clergy would easily have been enabled to put him 
down, or he would, in his turn, have converted them. He 
taught naturally, not theologically, as Nicodemus found 
when he went to consult him by night, and was told that 
the regenerating theory of the rabbins was a mistake, be- 
cause it was based upon the abstract metaphysical dogma of 
man's immortality. Jesus explained to this Rabbi that man 
was not an immortal or child of God until he was brought 
to the " second birth ; " meaning that man is a mere foetus in 
the womb of material and maternal nature, and so is not 
truly born a child of God until he has been carried by the 
travailing process of natural gestation to this second or real 
birth, and thus ushered from the womb of his maternal 



74 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



parent, nature, into the great light of the Divine Father's 
Omnipresence. 

Nicodemus was told that mankind, so far from being 
immortals, are perishable, and consequently they must be, in 
relation to the great eternal self-existence, nothing more than 
temporal, ephemeral, or aborted births, and unless they are 
carried through to the second birth must perish. This 
doctrine staggered the Rabbi, but he was reproached with 
being ignorant of natural law, while he set up as a master 
teacher in Israel. The Jewish clergy taught regeneration 
precisely as modern theologians do ; for conceiving man to be 
an immortal soul, they believed it to be sin-stained from the 
fall, and that it required renewing grace to purify it, and 
give it salvation from condemnation to eternal punishment; 
but Jesus knocked this system upon the head, by showing 
that man is not an immortal soul at all, for that only which 
is born of God is truly immortal, while that which is born 
of man is like its parents, ephemeral, mortal, or abortive. 

The Jews said that they knew God, and that he was their 
Father, but Jesus disputed their claim, and told them that it 
was forged, and that they did not know God at all ; for this 
he uses the strongest form of denial that could be framed, 
He says, I know him, and if I said that I knew him not, I 
should be as great a liar as you when you say that you do. 
He was asked for proof of his claim, and he refers to their 
own scriptures, where it is recorded of the children of light, 
"I have said ye are gods;" and he argued, that if those 
men were begotten, self-existent, immortal beings, or gods, 
to whom that word of generative creation came, then he 
himself, begotten by the same divine word of life, must be 
also a Son of God ; but the Jews neither could nor would see, 
because pre-conceived theological prejudices had blinded them. 

Jesus of Nazareth, was a modern revelation of an exist- 
ence that had long before been revealed on this planet and 
in other worlds. The hypothesis of the personality of deity 
in the son of man for the first and sole time in Jesus' case, 
can only be sustained by ignoring and misinterpreting the 
entire record of the Hebrew canonical scriptures. 



JESUS' REBUKE OF THEOLOGIANS' IGNORANCE. 75 



We are told, that God sent his Son of self-existence into 
this world, that all who received and accepted his word 
should not perish, but have, in that sonship, eternal life. 
Now the gloss put upon this declaration by sacerdotalism is 
this, namely, that the word perish is not the antithesis of 
eternal life, that is to say eternal death, but that perish 
equally refers to eternal life, but it is life in eternal misery. 
This theological perversion of scripture is persevered in 
throughout the entire Bible. Life, in theological glossaries, 
means life, but death does not mean death ; life and death, 
in fact, mean theologically the self-same thing, only the 
former is a reward and the latter a punishment. Thus, to 
destroy body and soul in hell, does not mean absolute de- 
struction, in priestly creeds; it means, actually, eternal 
preservation. The Bible says that eternal life is a free 
gift, but theologians say " No, it is a reward," thus destroying 
the freedom of the gift; again the Bible says, that the 
punishment or reward of man's sin is his death, theologians 
correct as usual, and assert that the punishment or reward of 
sin is not death eternal but life eternal, although life in 
eternal torment. 

The witness borne by the Evangelist John, in the first 
chapter of the gospel bearing his name as author, respecting 
the character of Jesus of Nazareth, as a prophet and 
messenger of God, is to the effect that Jesus was truly and 
positively the "Anointed One," or Son of the eternal 
Father, who, being himself self-existent, necessarily begets, 
by the word of his generation, offspring self-existent in 
their turn, and therefore, Jesus, as a Son, possessed his 
Father's prerogative of self-existent vitality, and was com- 
missioned to generate, by this inheritance of eternal or self- 
existent power, incarnate in himself, as many of the sons of 
mankind as were prepared by the universal Father to receive 
his call. 

But the men of his day, who had been carefully theologi- 
cally trained to consider themselves children of God by 
birthright as lineal descendants of Abraham and the patri- 
archs, and being further traditionallly convinced of the 



76 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



immortality of their souls, they were neither prepared to 
accept Jesus' authority, nor were they willing to believe his 
positive claim to be really and truly the anointed Son or the 
Christ of the eternal Father, for his teaching was not the 
vague slip slop discourse of conventional pietists, but he spoke 
authoritatively as that Cf Son of man," who was com- 
missioned to pull down and build up; thus his ruthless 
demolition of the Jewish sacerdotal edifice, goaded the 
clergy to rouse the people to active hostility, and they 
finally determined to take his life, for in relation to their 
theology, he was practically an atheist, since he denied that 
any one of them knew God. 

There is a very remarkable and unmistakeable resemblance 
between the day when this prophet appeared and the 
present times. 

If any nation upon earth possessed reasonable grounds 
whereon to build their assumed knowledge of Deity, surely 
this Jewish people could claim it, for their temple had once 
been the spot chosen for visible manifestation of Deity, in 
the personality of his Son as " messenger of the Lord.'' 
These Jews had all the presumed advantages that a regularly 
ordained sacerdotal class could give; their atonement, 
purifications, absolutions, sacraments, as means and pledges of 
regenerating and sanctifying grace, were as theologically 
perfect as they appear to be now ; ?md yet, notwithstanding 
all this clerical assistance, and their orthodox means of grace, 
they were repeatedly warned by this Son and prophet that 
they really knew not God. Aye, not only were they told 
so, but it was proved to demonstration to be the case. The 
Jewish priests and misguided laity condemned Jesus to 
death, because he knocked their national sacerdotal scaffolding 
from under their feet ; and because he shewed them to be, 
from high priest down to the lowest scribe, a hypocritical, 
psalm-singing, canting, lying generation, whose pretended 
worship of God was the veriest cant, because confined to the 
lip service of the ritualism of repeating prayer, and the 
observance of effete formulas ; their fasting and alms-giving 
being mere show for human regard, and their theology the 



DENUNCIATORY CRY OF THE HEBREW SEERS. 77 



inherited convictions of fallible tradition, and such tradition 
as practically reduced their postulated Deity to their own 
mental standard of capricious attributes, and partial judgment. 

The language employed by Jesus is never vituperative 
until he comes to attack theistic professors ; and then indeed 
he exhausts every form of expression denoting indignant 
scorn, abhorrence, and contempt, for the hypocrisy, rascality, 
and miserable perversion of truth, leavening the religion of 
that day. 

The cry of preceding prophets had been, away with your 
religious formulas and rites ; cease from psalm-singing and 
fiddle playing, don't weary me with your ceaseless round of 
sabbatical cant ; be off with your load of peace and burnt 
offerings; I never required these things of you, for the 
sacrifice of self-will is my true sacrifice, and my accepted 
worshipper is the man who performs my will in active duty. 
These withering rebukes of the Hebrew prophets are repeated 
by Jesus of Nazareth, who singled out the same priests as 
were likened by Ezekiel to " foxes in the desert ;" and he 
shews these clergy, scribes, and pharisees to be as self- 
deceiving, hollow-hearted, bragging, bullying, tyrannical, 
narrow-minded, and bigoted set of fellows as could be found 
in the wide world. 

The protest of these Hebrew prophets is the pleading of 
modern atheists, which is, that the conventional worship of 
Deity is a gigantic delusion ; that man's assumed knowledge 
of Deity and the structure of theology is a huge mistake ; 
that the character and attributes assigned to God by theolo- 
gians are derogatory to his attributes of infinite justice and 
truth; and finally, that the entire system of religious 
education is a usurpation of the true sovereign power of 
God, manifested in natural processes ; and thus conventional 
theology is really and truly an artificial system, that cramps 
and emasculates the intellectual power of the human race. 

To return to the New, or Greek Testament, we find there, 
that the Apostle Paul speaks of eternal punishment as 
everlasting destruction from the presence of God. Now, the 
presence of God being everywhere, it follows, that destruction 



78 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



from this omnipresence cannot mean preservation for punish- 
ment in eternal misery ; but it must imply a literal and 
absolute annihilation. Paul speaks of eternal or self-existent 
life not as a disembodied or immaterial ghost, but life in an 
immortalized body, not sustained by blood that requires 
bread, but in an organization that exists by the [flux of 
magnetic or electric force, pulsating from the paternal 
element in the universe. When Paul pleads against the 
sadducean error, that was creeping into the minds of some of 
his converts, he argued, that if Jesus of Nazareth was not 
living, then all those who had been quickened by the electric 
vibration of his living voice were dead, that is, had perished 
just as the brute-beasts perish; and he draws a wide 
distinction between that temporary withdrawal from mortal 
eye, which may be called hybernation or sleep, and that exit 
which is actual annihilation. 

The Apostle Peter speaks of certain vile, low-minded, 
coarse-mannered men as fellows whose ideas were little 
elevated above " natural brute-beasts ;" and like them made 
for eternal destruction. He makes use of the expression — 
"who shall utterly perish in their own corruption." He 
would certainly never have used strong language like this 
if he had been teaching the doctrine of these men being 
immortal souls. 

Peter's idea of the assumed free-will of man does not bear 
out the dogmatic assertion of theologians, for he says — 
"While they promise them liberty (free-will?) they them- 
" selves are servants (slaves ?) of corruption, for of whom a 
< f man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." 

Jude speaks also of dirty, low-minded men, who know 
naturally, like brute beasts, certain beastly and obscene 
practices, and filthy anecdotes, with which blackguard ideas 
and habits they pollute themselves, "To whom," he says "is 
" reserved the blackness of darkness for ever." 

When the great body of theological palaver is dissected 
and analysed, it is at once seen how utterly inconsistent, 
illogical, and self-stultifying it is. It is contended by its 
professors that the death spoken of by the writers in the 



PERVERSION OF SCRIPURE IN THEISTIC GLOSSARIES. 79 



Bible does not mean actual death in its natural sense, but 
death in a theological sense, that is to say, that natural death 
means theological life, which is preternatural life. All 
theologians despise and ignore natural phenomena, and fall 
back upon this assumed knowledge of that absolute which 
transcends all relative or natural phenomena and common or 
natural sense ; thus their only stand -ground is the super or 
contra-natural, which they postulate for the occasion ; like the 
conjurer Sidrophel in Hudibras, whose conclusions were 
but logical deductions from gratuitously assumed hypotheses 
transcending common sense. In all sacerdotal glossaries of 
scriptural writings, death means life, and everlasting death 
and destruction means everlasting life and preservation; in 
other words, theological death means supernatural death, 
which is another term for supernatural life, and this super- 
natural life is divided into two great compartments, the first 
of which is life in happiness, and the second is life in pain or 
punishment ; so that if a man is not theologically saved for 
happiness, he is theologically damned to die a life as a 
disembodied immortal, or self-existent evil spirit, a sort of 
wandering, melancholy, woe-begone ghost, in a comatose 
state, swooned in iniquity, or in a syncoptic existence of 
preternatural life, shivering or perspiring with hell-fire, 
cursing its Author, howling and blaspheming, an eternal 
witness of everlasting damnation, an imperishable monument 
of the victorious power of evil over the goodness and mercy 
of an all-powerful, an all- wise, and benevolent God ! 

Life and death, therefore, mean the same thing in theo- 
logical palaver, with this difference, however, that the former 
is life in heaven, and the latter life in hell ; and this, be it 
remembered, in the very teeth of that revelation which 
asserts that heaven is not a locality at all, but is a change of 
condition in the natural constitution of man himself. The 
promise of another world is limited to extended existence on 
this planet, for the promise recorded is, " The just shall 
" inherit the earth." Whereas theologians make of heaven 
a particular place, located somewhere, but leave this some- 
where to go wandering through space, like their own illogical 



80 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



ideas. In precisely the same way, they attempt to make 
hell a locality by delocalizing it ! They disinter it from the 
grave, where it is a tangible place, and having acted the part 
of resurrectionists, they theologize the bodies into space. 
Hell-fire, they say, only burns for preservation, but does not 
burn for consumption, overlooking the fact that the metaphor 
of fire used to portray hell in the Bible, is a consuming, not 
a preserving flame, and the fire that burns, as well as the 
maggot that destroys, operate upon tangible materials, and 
are used to convey the idea of final and absolute decom- 
position or annihilation. The dead are likened in the Bible 
to hay, straw, mutton fat, and other inflammable and com- 
bustible materials, which are burnt up and for ever destroyed 
by the electro-chemical action of decomposing fire. Thus 
eternal punishment is everlasting death, not everlasting life. 

It is quite true that isolated or disjointed texts prove 
nothing conclusive, unless they are corroborated and sustained 
by the context. If the context positively contradicts any 
particular passage that has been selected, then this text so 
selected must be abandoned or modified accordingly. When, 
however, the general tenor of the Hebrew and Greek 
scriptures have been comprehensively studied, it will be 
found that prophet follows prophet, and one note of truth 
follows another, as though the different writers had been 
engaged in composing a grand fugue in music, each taking 
his part, and the whole vibrating with the measured beat of 
a metronome, until the piece is fully rehearsed. 

To support the theological hypothesis of the immortality 
of the human soul, it is asserted that the mind of man is 
homogeneous with the supreme creative reason, but this is 
flatly contradicted by the Bible. Isaiah asserts that the 
thoughts and ways of God are as much superior to man's 
puny ideas as the starry hosts are beyond the orbit of this 
little animated globule, the earth ; and speaking by and for 
his Father, the prophet says, "My thoughts are not your 
" thoughts, neither are my ways your ways." Again he 
asserts, "All the nations before him are nothing, and less than 
" nothing, to whom will you liken me or shall I be equal ?" 



THE HUMAN NOT HOMOGENEOUS WITH THE DIVINE WILL. 81 



Now this question is evidently addressed to theologians, 
who have in all time past asserted, that the power which 
generated vital force, and the human mind which is merely 
phenomenal, or a mode of that force, are mutually converti- 
ble the one into the other. 

To assert that intelligence is the cause of human intelli- 
gence, is to limit the procreative energy of Deity to human 
ideas, that is, to man's standard of perfection, which is mani- 
festly absurd. A bumpkin might as reasonably say, that the 
cause of mind, and of all natural phenomena, is "gumption" 
inasmuch as gumption is the perfection of intelligent action. 
Every known effect is produced by the union of two gene- 
rating a third and intermediate effect. So that there is 
really no more warrant for the dogmatic assertion, that mind 
is the cause of mind, than for the analogous hypothesis that 
the cause of torn cats is the incessant operation of metaphy- 
sical or immaterial caterwauling, which, if cats could succeed 
in making known their intuitive convictions to mankind, no 
doubt would be their standard of Divine perfection. 

Therefore the theological assertion that the human mind 
is immortal, or self-existent, like the great paternal source of 
life in the universe, is an impudent piece of sacerdotal dog- 
matism, evidently as ridiculous as it is mendacious, and in 
flat contradiction of the Bible, which asserts, with marvellous 
iteration, that all mankind are as perishable as the ephemeral 
grass and flowers in the fields, the words are, " All flesh 
<f is grass, and the glory thereof as the flowers in the field." 

Again — 

" God alone hath immortality, and dwells in a light to 
** which man cannot approach." 

To maintain, as theologians do, that the cause of intelli- 
gence is intelligence, and that no cause but intelligence could 
have produced human intelligence, is as much as to say, that 
a father's grasp of intellect is like the unconscious cerebra- 
tion of a foetus that has never seen the day light. If man 
were an immortal, he would be self-existent, whereas it is 
patent, that the human mind, or intelligence, is only pheno- 
menal, or the quality of a particular mode of organized life. 

Gr 



82 



PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE. 



For intelligence differs in exact ratio to the difference in 
cerebral organizations, so that intelligence is an effect or 
result ; an attribute or function of organized life, and not an 
existence per se. Mind in man is reflex action set in motion 
by certain enveloping material processes, and its manifesta- 
tion varies with the peculiar conditions of that material 
organization of which it is an attribute, or function. As 
material processes, which are analogous to gestation, give rise 
to human intelligence, it follows that conception of ideas, 
and cerebration in man, is nothing more than what is analo- 
gous to that pulsation of vital force that beats by sympathetic 
action in foetal life in the womb. 

As the foetus can only exist by the vitality that its 
maternal parent has conceived, so in the same way the maternal 
element in the universe, which is the material, having been 
impregnated with vital force, all her offspring, man among 
the number, are nourished by the conceptive ideas that she 
has herself conceived, and thus it happens that mind or 
intelligence in man, being analogous to foetal growth, it 
exhibits phenomena that are not evidence of self-existent 
mind-power. Human cerebration is only voluntary in 
degree, and not in essence, that is, it is absolutely involuntary 
in relation to the self- existent " I am," and relatively involun- 
tary to what is voluntary in its own condition, and that of 
its maternal parent. If intelligence or mind in man was 
really and positively self-existent, it would be wholly or 
absolutely voluntary ; but it is not absolutely free moving, 
for it exists only in obedience to the law of material, that is, 
of maternal conditions. It is not self-existent or immortal 
•per se, for it must obey the condition of material phenomena, 
which is that of incessant mutation. 

Man's conception of existence is necessarily limited to that 
of phenomenal modes of existence, and he cannot penetrate 
beyond this, because his idealization is only reflex action, 
responsive to the influence of material gestatory processes, 
of which no cause can possibly be known as an absolute one, 
antecedent to this material process of gestation in question. 
As a child before birth cannot possibly know its father, so 



COSMICAL GESTATION THE CAUSE OF HUMAN VOLITION. 83 



man before his divine birth from the womb of nature cannot 
know his divine father. To this condition of dependence 
upon material support man must bow his head, till he is 
brought to the appointed hour of his true birth. 

This point may be amplified in this way. As existence 
is that which is in itself, and is conceived per se, shutting 
out the possibility of any other existence, it follows that all 
concepts of existence in the foetal human mind, coming as 
they do from a material or maternal source, must compel 
this embryotic mind, so responding to and reflecting material 
influence, to limit its concept of existence to that of material 
conditions, because it is only by, and through, and in the 
operation of these material processes that the human mind 
derives any mental or bodily nourishment. All that man can 
know is phenomenal of the unknown, this is allowed by Sir 
William Hamilton. To assert that the whole of existence is an 
absolute cause is to say, that phenomena of the unknown 
constitutes the cause itself sought for, which is confessedly 
unknown per se. 

The human mind is not conscious of the absolute entities, 
spirit, or matter in themselves, but only of the relation- 
ship subsisting between these two absolute entities, impon- 
derable force and matter as aforesaid. It must be admitted 
that man is not in a condition to receive from either primary 
parent individually that knowledge of their absolute self- 
existence which is dogmatically assumed in controversial 
theologies. 

If self-existence is the great cause, and absolute self-exist- 
ence the absolute cause, then it cannot be matter per se s for 
the absolute self-existence of matter per se cannot possibly 
be demonstrated. Science has proved that the ultimate 
atom of matter eludes the grasp of the human mind, and 
that matter can only be known by its forces, that is to say, 
it is only known by its relation to imponderable force, and 
on the other hand, imponderable force is only cognisable by 
its relation to matter. 



84 



CHAPTER V. 

NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



The free will of the human mind! How many thousand, 
and perhaps million heads of the genus homo have ached; 
and how many millions pairs of eyes and hands have become 
positively paralyzed in their efforts to convince their owners 
and their opponents, that what they think ought to be — 
actually exists ; and that if it does not exist, it ought to do 
so ; and it is proper to assume it, and take it for granted 
even if it does not ? Multitudes surrender their convictions 
to the first bold invader that attacks them. Even if the true 
solution of this subject could be worked out in time, there 
are those who would seek to prevent it ; and who, if suspicious 
themselves of their own ignorance, will not allow others to 
enlighten them, nor even permit the correction of inadvertent 
thinking in others. This dogma is made the foundation 
stone of morals and religion or the science of immortality ; 
and if free will, and theological responsibility for good and 
evil, gives way to the rude shock of a clearer and more 
positive philosophy, great will be the fall of churches ; dire 
the crash of vested interests; horrid the howls of the poor 
priests ; dismal the shrieks of conventicle haunting females ; 
and dreadful the distress, both moral and pecuniary, of all 
those interested in building, supporting, and multiplying 
places of worship. The great tribulation, so long prophesied 
and postponed by Dr. Cumming, will have come at last ; and 
the end of theology and its civilization will have arrived. 



THEOLOGICAL BASIS OF RELIGION AND MORALITY. 85 



Then shall be fulfilled the ancient nursery prophecy that 
foretold of a " coming man," endowed with gigantic powers 
of consumption. 

* He swallowed the church, he swallowed the steeple, he 
" swallowed the parson and all the people." 

What a miserable nightmare-ridden thing the human 
mind has for many centuries been ! Here is the account of 
the fall of the first children of God, or angels of light, in the 
opening chapters of the Bible, consequent upon their 
disobeying the benevolent injunction of their parent to avoid 
this theism based on free will with responsibility for 
good and evil ; and yet we have till now, this very foundation 
of knowledge of good and evil, and future rewards and 
punishment, to build the temple of theology and immortality 
upon ! 

Perhaps the best way of attempting to refute some of the 
fallacies of the day, is to quote opinions from opposite sides. 

What is religion, or the meaning of this phrase of being 
born again ? 

Dr. Channing says : "Religion is appointed to carry forward 
" mankind ; but not as conceived and expounded by narrow 
" minds ; not as darkened by the ignorant ; not as debased 
" by the superstitious ; not as subtilised by the visionary ; not 
" as thundered out by the intolerant fanatic ; not as turned 
" into drivelling cant by the hypocrite." 

" All moral and religious truth may be reduced to one 
" great and central thought, 'perfection of mind.'" 

" Religion is nothing more than human nature acting in 
" obedience to its chief law." 

" A theology at war with the laws of physical nature, 
" would be a battle of no doubtful issue." 

" All professions tend to narrow and obscure the intellect, 
" and none more than that of a priest." 

Now, Channing, in common with all theologians, including 
the very priests or professors of the science he denounces 
as narrow-minded and bigoted, bases his religious science 
upon the identical doctrine or dogmatic assumption of the 
essential immortality of the human soul, and its responsibility 



86 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



for choice, and knowledge of theological good and evil, 
which he calls the moral principle. All theistical systems 
have the same quicksandy foundation. All teach the free- 
will of the" human mind. All contend for its imperishable 
nature. All make Deity a judge of theological good and 
evil; and finally, all denounced as ne- theism the sovereign 
power of unchangeable and immutable law which is the 
basis of true science. 

Mr. Holyoake, in his " Trial of Theism," chapter xiv, 
article, " Francis William Newman," comments upon the 
professor's views, published in his work entitled " The Soul : 
her Sorrows and Aspirations." Thus: — 

" Mr. Newman rests his entire theory of religion, not 
" upon any logical proof, but upon the popular, and as he 
<f calls it, instructive belief in a self-determining Will, which, 
" except we adopt, we cannot act wisely or well." (p. 122) 
<e If there be no such will in us, it is still useful for practice 
" to believe that there is ; and the man who most knows the 
(S truth, is then most likely to act foolishly. This is so 
" intense a paradox, as to confirm most people in their 
" conviction, that there is a self-moving will in us." (p. 112). 

Mr. Holyoake asks — " Is this so ? It is not clear that 
" innumerable people do act wisely and well without any 
" practical belief in a self-moving will. The judge before 
" he tries a case, and the jury before they hear it, have no 
cc will upon the subject. Both wait for evidence ; and the 
" verdict and the sentence are determined alone by evidence 
<c and by law. Those who take this view of the human will, 
" Mr. Newman says, ought logically to be atheists. Atheism, 
" therefore, erected on necessarian grounds is a logical 
" system." 

" On this subject my own felings and convictions are in 
<c strange contrast with those of Mr. Newman. He is able 
" to recognise the presence of a supreme ruling mind only 
ee through the existence of free-will. The presence of 
" government in intelligence, of law in mind, is to him the 
ee symbol of atheism, and moral anarchy ; while to me, 
" free-will seems the synonym of chaos in nature, of disorder 



ATHEISM AS A LOGICAL SYSTEM. 87 

u in ethics of confusion in life. I see the influence men 
" can exert on society, and that life is a calculable process. 
" But why is it so ? There my curiosity is baffled, and my 
" knowledge ends. In vain I look back, hoping to unravel 
" the mysterious destiny with which we are all so darkly 
" bound. That is the channel through which all my con- 
" sciousness seems to pass out into a sea of wonder ; and if 
" ever the orient light of Deity breaks in on me, it will, I 
" think, come in that direction. The presence of law in 
" mind, is to me the greatest fact in nature. But no gleam 
" of explanation ever comes through the churches. All 
" churches unite to deny the truth, or contradict it. I am 
" afraid the explanation is in the grave." 

No gleam of explanation can ever come through the 
theologies, because they all assume the immortality of what 
is perishable ; and that is the mind of man. All theists 
regard the views of the necessarian with alarm and dismay. 
They make free will their standard, and denounce the 
doctrine of law in mind as atheistical. 

And this, in the very teeth of the Bible they profess to 
expound, which, as we shall soon see, denies every one 
of these assumptions. 

More especially do we find these traditional doctrines of 
men denied, both in the teaching and practice of Jesus of 
Nazareth. 

He said, — " The Son can do nothing of himself but what 
" he seeth the Father do." Is that free will ? " As I hear, I 
"judge," said Christ. Is that judging before evidence? Had 
he, could he, have a mind made up on the subject if he waited 
to hear before he judged ? Again, — " I came not into the 
world to do my own will ; but the will of him that sent me." 
Is that free will ? " The Father sheweth the Son all things 
" that he himself (the Father) doeth." " This commandment I 
" received of my Father." "It is meat to me to do the will of 
" my Father." Is there a shadow of free will in these, or in 
any of Jesus' sayings? Yet he was a revelation of the 
absolute and eternal in the man. Now let us study his 
temptation. He was tempted to exercise his own will, and 



88 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



work what was contrary to the law, i.e. to make bread from 
stones for himself without command; not working by 
obedience, but to prove his power. He puts the rising self- 
will down, not once, but many times. Even he, under the 
special providence or care of the angels of his Father was not 
at liberty to obey the Satan of free-will. He was not to 
tempt God ; he was to obey. True faith is action, or active 
obedience; not passive assent to mere traditional belief. 
Jesus was faithful or obedient even to death. But how did 
he obey? Not without a struggle, such a struggle as 
snapped asunder the threads of life. 

It was not the cross that killed him. Pilate, a man who 
knew as well as any living governor what a man could suffer 
in torture, as well probably as he knew, from boyish experi- 
ence, the tenacity of life inherent in a cat ; this man wondered 
that Jesus was so soon dead. The truth is, the cross only 
finished indirectly what was already begun. The contest 
between Satan or self-will, and the power of death, and the 
immutable law or necessitation of the Eternal Prepurposer, 
commenced in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prayed in 
piteous tones that if it were possible he might not be 
obliged to drain the bitter cup of degradation and cruel 
death to the very dregs. " Ah, Father, my God, my God, if 
it be possible, let me have my own way." Nevertheless, he 
says at last, in choking accents, " not my will, but thine be 
" done." He came to do the will of him that sent him; but 
his own will shuddered at the task. He would not have 
been tempted in all respects as we are, if he had not trem- 
bled and hesitated. He submits in the end ; but it is a 
submission that draws out one by one the sinews of his 
frame ; he is convulsed from head to foot, and slowly the life 
ebbs away in terror, doubt, and awful darkness. At last the 
fearful cry, " My God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" bubbles 
up from the breaking heart, and the struggle has ended. 
The Satan of self-will has done its work ; and the adversary 
who has the power of death, has afforded mankind an 
imperishable record of the contest between duty and incli- 
nation or self-will. 



SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS CHEIST'S MARTYRDOM. 89 



Prayer, says Mr. Emerson, "is a disease of the will." 
W hat was the prayer in Gethsemane, but a disease of the 
will ? What was the answer, but strength to do God's will ? 
What indeed is the Lord's prayer, but a petition to overcome 
self-will, and to seek power to do God's will. For when 
God's kingdom has actually come, and his will is really done, 
the religion of action has taken the place of the religion of 
bead-telling, psalmody, and revolving praying cylinders, 
And the prophecy is then fulfilled which was spoken by 
Isaiah the prophet, in the lxv hapter : — 

" It shall come to pass, that before they call I will answer, 
" and while they are yet speaking I will hear." 

The doctrine of moral responsibility for choice of good and 
evil, must always, and as a matter of course, uphold the 
assumption of free will. In fact, the leading terms in 
theistical teaching are but so many mutually convertible 
propositions, so that to destroy one is to spoil the entire set. 

It is argued, that if the doctrine of the necessarian be 
pushed to its logical consequence it will usurp the throne of 
God himself. Of course it will, if the throne upon which 
God sits is the judgment seat of theological good and evil. 
But how can Deity sit in judgment upon what he ignores? — 
He knows not evil. His son says he is of purer eyes than to 
behold it. His kingdom is "free gift" of immortality, not as 
a reward for good, for Deity alone is absolutely good ; can he 
reward himself? Punishment for sin, or rather sin's own 
punishment, is eternal death. Nature's punishments are all 
inherent, and the sins of the parent are visited upon enfeebled 
offspring by hereditary transmission, but all is confined to 
this mortal state nothing left for eternal punishment, 
which is metaphorically used in relation to the immortal 
privileges of the sons of God. 

It will be useful to review the arguments of "Good and Evil" 
theologians. Here, for example, is Mr. Isaac Taylor, the 
great evangelical champion, in his "Logic in Theology," 
speaking of Jonathan Edwards' work on " Freedom of the 
" Human Will" He says :— 

"In modern times no instance of the misapplication of 



90 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



" mere logic to the solution of a physical problem has been 
" more signal, or has had so wide and lasting an influence, as 
" that of the f inquiry into the modern prevailing notions 
" e respecting the freedom of will.' Jonathan Edwards has 
" held his ground as a master in morals and theology, almost 
" unquestioned, from our times to these." 

Mr. Taylor characterizes this celebrated Essay as being 
an instance of exact analysis of penetrative abstraction and 
philosophic calmness, and to get out of the meshes of its iron 
network of reasoning, he contends that, " This firmly jointed 
" chain of demonstrative reasoning is logic, but is not fact !" 
What the Essayist's precise notion of logic really is, it would 
be worth something to know. He does not regard it as the 
deliverance of judgment upon evidence, but an arbitrary set 
of rules of mental arithmetic to cheat folks into some dread- 
ful verdict that had better not be spoken in court. 

Mr. Taylor says: 

" Let it be allowed, then, that the unsolved problem con- 
" cerning the alleged liberty of the human mind, and its 
" exemption from the stern conditions of physical causation, 
" does affect, or ought to affect, not only our religious 
" opinions, but also our notions, feelings, judgments, and 
" conduct in every day life." 

But if duty be a leading end of action, why should the 
necessarian be less able to follow out that principle of duty 
as a leading end of action than the upholder of free will, 
who regards consequences as it pleases himself, or the man 
who obey God because he fears his hell fire ? 

Mr. Taylor is horrified to find that : — 

" Jonathan Edwards, the Christian theologian, and the de- 
" vout Calvinistic teacher, has been hailed as a master in philo- 
" sophy, and a powerful coadjutor, by the chiefs and apostles 
66 of modern unbelief, and even of atheism," and he "finds 
" this Christian writer travelling in company with the latest 
" of the modern champions of materialistic pantheism upon 
" the same road." 

That is to say, that Jonathan Edwards' predestination, as 
a foundation for salvation, is nothing more or less than a 



THEISTIC CRITICISM UPON J. EDWAED'S PHILOSOPHY. 91 



scriptural account in biblical phraseology of the doctrine of 
philosophical necessity. At page 24, Mr. Taylor confesses, 
that " necessity," or what he calls fatalism, " holds its ground 
<f as a theory of the universe." And Jonathan Edwards and 
Diderot, the great French encyclopasdist, agree in their 
doctrine of universal law alike ruling in mind and matter ; 
and subsequently we find the Essayist confessing the 
" inability of a religious man to rescue the argument of 
(( Edwards from its apparent connection with the fatalism of 
{< pantheists and atheists." He says, that if this logical 
deduction of Edwards, or " If Galvanism were exploded, a 
" long time would not elapse before evangelical doctrine of 
<c every sort would find itself driven into the gulf that had 
" yawned to receive its rival." 

The only argument that Mr. Taylor is capable of follow- 
ing is just the everlastingly debated one of the positively 
inscrutable nature of the human mind, and because of this, 
it is assumed to be immortal and endowed with a theological 
principle not possessed by the brute creation. The distinc- 
tive prerogative of the human mind is assumed and affirmed 
to be its initiative activity. This is taking it for granted with 
a vengeance, because as Mr. Taylor confesses at page 75, 
" The ultimate fact in human nature is not susceptible of 
" analysis, and must for ever defy our endeavours to set it 
" forth in intelligible propositions." 

And yet it is coolly and dogmatically insisted upon, that 
the ultimate fact in human mind is its immortal nature, and 
its absolute initiative activity or free will. 

The wind up of Mr. Taylor's Essay, reminds one of 
Cruikshank's caricature of an Irish shillalegh, of which he 
says : — 

f t This is a stick of Rhetorick ; 
To know its uses and intent, 
Wid a howl and a screech, 
'Tis a figure of speech 
Oft used in a knock-down argument." 

The following is the Essayist's shillalegh, and he labels it 
Atheism ! 



92 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



" Come what might, let all principles and all intentions of 
" piety and moral feeling be outraged, yet if the logic (of 
(C Edwards) be right, if each proposition hangs fast by the 
u heels of the proposition which is its precursor, if all be so, 
<f then a belief which is infinitely worse than the worst 
<( blasphemies of atheists, is, without a doubt, to be taken to 
" ourselves as true!" 

But atheism is not the denial of the probability or possi- 
bility of the existence of Deity. It denies the alleged proofs 
of his existence, contending that the evidence adduced by 
theists is vague, contradictory, and unsatisfactory. It does 
not make the world without God, but finds the world with- 
out determinative knowledge of him. Mr. Holyoake, in his 
" Trial of Theism," says, that it is not the supreme subject 
of belief itself, but the inadequate belief of believers about 
it, that is criticised. Men are atheists because they fail to 
understand what is meant by the term God. They are 
jealous of opinions, totally misleading if God do not exist, and 
derogatory to him if he does. They say that the conventional 
theory of Deity is atheism to nature, and atheism is reason 
putting questions to theology, for the question of the exist- 
ence of Deity is one of " relative probability," and the most 
thorough going atheist does no more than declare, that 
the secret of nature is yet unanswered. Man, he says, 
masters fragmentary truths, but absolute truth is the secret 
of nature. If atheism had never been anything but a mere 
negation, why did the apostle Paul seize the Athenian 
atheism, from their altars to the unknown God, whereon to 
found his preaching ? Paul seized this consciousness and 
confession of ignorance as a healthy sign. 

The case of the necessarian, who denies the dogmatic assump- 
tion of those who, while they admit that the ultimate fact in 
human nature is an inscrutable mystery, nevertheless assert 
their right to solve the riddle their own way, is well argued 
by the anonymous author of " Occasional Essays in Philo- 
" sophy." He says: — 

cc I deny that the mind can be a self-acting instrument or 
" independent of cause. Because the mere complex mental 



PREDESTINATION AND NECESSARIAN PHILOSOPHY. 93 



" phenomena may be inscrutable, it does not therefore follow 
<e that they are ultimate. If man were a free agent, here 
" would be an effect without a cause. Cause, or motive to 
ce action in mind, is precisely the same as cause to effect in 
" physics. Motive is the cause or antecedent of mental 
« effects." 

" Nothing can be self-determinate that exists in e relation.' 
ce No conditioned existence can be, in this sense, free in its 
t( activity, or liberated from the conditions of its relation in 
" existence, which necessitates, by virtue of this relation, 
" that all things must be interdependent." 

" Let us try this matter by the contradictories, the 
w strongest rule in logic. Either these volitions are effects, 
ee or they are not ; if they are effects, they are consequents 
" of necessity ; consequents indissolubly associated with 
" those causes, or antecedents, or motives which have pro- 
" duced them, and therefore mental freedom, such as described, 
" is destroyed." 

" If the volitions of man are not effects, here are inde- 
" pendent actions ; actions not dependent on condition or 
" relation, but self-determinative, self-originative, enfran- 
(( chised from motives or antecedents ; not produced by the 
" divine creative energy, not controlled by the divine will, 
" and by reason of existing beyond the domain of God's 
" influence, necessarily limiting his power, and necessarily 
" destroying his infinity." 

Again — 

" The moment it is granted that God is omniscient, pre- 
" destination must also be granted, which is tantamount to 
w man's necessitated actions. Omniscience is infinite fore- 
" knowledge or prescience. Now, infinite foreknowledge, in 
" an infinite being, is tantamount to predestination, as it is im- 
m possible God could foreknow what was doubtful, or would 
" not come to pass. To say God's foreknowledge could 
" exist irrespectively of the events of futurity, is the same 
u as to say that the volitions of human beings, and the 
" activities of human nature, could frustrate what God fore- 
" knew would come to pass. The result would thus falsify, 



94 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



" and consequently destroy, foreknowledge. If we can do 
" what was not foreknown, we destroy prescience. If we 
" can only do what was foreknown, where is our liberty ? 
" There could be no contingency, uncertainty, or caprice 
" with Go 1, and, therefore, everything must be resolved, in 
" the divine existence, into consequences of necessity." 

" For my own part, I can assert that I am conscious of no 
" such idea as the freedom of the will, from the moment that 
" study and meditation disproved the error, and produced 
" what Professor Ferrier declares the grand result of all 
" philosophical enquiry, namely, the rectification of the in- 
" advertencies of ordinary thinking." 

We are told that it was Laplace who originated the idea 
that politics and morals ought to be brought within the 
sphere of exact sciences, and wrested from the grasp of 
empirical philosophers, by resting them on the basis of obser- 
vation and calculation. 

This task lias been undertaken by Mr. Buckle, the result 
of whose labours, in his " History of Civilization," is now 
before the public. 

Mr. Buckle has demonstrated the fact, that the commis- 
sion of crime prevails in regular average crops, bearing as 
uniform a relation to certain known circumstances, as the 
rotation of the seasons to the recurrence of seed time and 
harvest ; and he proves by exhaustive statements of criminal 
statistics, that the vices and virtues of individuals are the 
result of civilization or the state of society in which 
such individuals are thrown. He argues, in effect, as 
follows : — 

" The actions of men are, by an easy and obvious division, 
" separated into two classes, the virtuous and the vicious ; 
<f and as these classes are correlative, and when put together 
" compose the total of our moral conduct, it follows that 
" whatever increases the one, will in a relative point of view 
" diminish the other ; so that if we can in any period detect 
ee a uniformity and a method in the vices of a people, there 
e ' must be corresponding regularity in their virtues ; or if 
" we could prove a regularity in their virtues, we should 



MR. BUCKLE'S HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION. 95 



u necessarily infer an equal regularity in their vices ; the 
" two sets of actions being, according to the terms of the 
" division, merely supplementary to each other." 

Mr. Buckle asserts that all human actions are performed 
in consequence of some motive or motives; these motives 
are the result of some antecedents, consequently, if all these 
antecedents, with the laws of their movements, could be dis- 
covered, it is possible to predict with unerring certainty the 
whole of their immediate results. He speaks of two classes 
of antecedents, the first of which are in, and the second 
of which are out of the mind. So that if it could be found 
how each class affected the other, we might comprehend the 
entire vicissitudes of the human race. He defines the external 
influences to be climate, food, soil, and the general aspect of 
nature, and contends for two types of civilization, namely the 
Asiatic and the European. In the Oriental type nature has 
been more important than man, and in the western type man 
has achieved a sort of victory over nature. 

But it is not easy to see the distinction contended for, the 
Asiatic has no more been conquered by nature, than nature 
has been subordinated by the European. The difference 
between the two is relative, or in degree. In both cases 
man has been moulded by nature ; let him fret and fume 
at the yoke as he may, man can have dominion over nature 
only by observing and applying nature's own powers. 
Whatever man has conquered from nature has been by 
nature's vitality or motive power, not by his inherent mind 
power. Not until nature's law is understood can mankind 
subdue her influence over them; "man is the servant of 
" nature" said Bacon, and he must interpret her mysterious 
power ere he can perform any great work. 

Mankind have been educated by external nature, in both 
old and new hemispheres of this world. The division by 
Mr. Buckle of mental power into two types is somewhat of 
an arbitrary classification. The stagnation of Asiatic 
philosophy and civilization is due to metaphysical theories 
throwing the mind inwards upon itself for solution of great 
perplexities, and the dead lock of the Eastern mind is a great 



96 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



caution to teach us to avoid deducing a philosophy of human 
nature from its own resources or innate consciousness. 

The mind of man is not a store house capable of supplying 
original ideas that educate the human race, the stomach is 
for digestion of food, not for its supply, and so the human 
mind may assimilate what is supplied from external sources, 
but cannot furnish its necessary food from itself. 

It cannot logically be argued that mankind have civilized 
nature. The vital power in nature has civilized man, just as 
the dumb creatures have been educated in the school called 
instinctive impulse, which is their morality or motive power. 

The distinction between morality and intelligence is 
arbitrary, unless it be understood to mean a merely relative 
division or classification to aid philosophical study ; morals 
are motives or moving powers, and when it is argued that 
the morals of the brutes are mere instincts, and that man's 
morals are powers or intelligence of an absolute generic 
difference, it is to claim a superiority which, if it means any- 
thing at all, must show that their mind-power in its absolute 
initiative character is a living vitality of higher force than 
the motive powers or morals in nature ; and if of superior 
force to nature and her instinctive races of organised beings, 
then it must mean that the human mind is a living motive 
power per se, that can model growth, or that can model the 
shape or form or direction of that growth. In place of this 
we know very well that no man can by his thought or mind- 
power increase or diminish an inch of his stature, change 
the complexion of his skin, alter his features, or change 
radically the colour of his hair. 

Mr. Buckle argues that the measure of civilization is the 
triumph of the human mind over external agents. 

His idea that mental law is more important than 
physical law, is derived from a hypothetical distinction that 
possesses no absolute existence. When it is contended that 
carefully collected facts show that natural or physical laws 
have during several past centuries been modified by the 
mental laws of mankind, so that increased intelligence, or 
progressing civilization, has elevated man above the adverse 



KNOWLEDGE SUBJECT TO COSMICAL CONDITIONS. 97 



power of contending forces, such as storms, cold, pestilence, 
and famines, thereby increasing his physical comforts; 
diminished accidents, mitigated bodily pain, multiplied enjoy- 
ment, prolonged the average of life, and so increased his 
capacity for happiness, let it never be forgotten that this has 
been achieved by that system of positive philosophy that 
gives man the key to the great storehouse of nature's own 
vital and motive powers. The superiority of Western over 
Asiatic civilization is one of degree only, and is due to the 
fact that the human mind in the former case has abandoned, 
in some measure, arbitrary methods of reasoning and 
philosophising for the more certain process of sensible 
observation and experience, operating by nature upon nature, 
for by no other power can any man work. Not until man 
descends from his pedestal of divinity, and submits to learn 
from his schoolmaster, nature, does he find what he calls 
science or knowing power; not until he learns obedience 
does he know how to rule ; not until he works does he obtain 
anything; not until he patiently scrutinizes objective and 
external realities does he find anything; not until he has 
knocked repeatedly at the door of truth does he obtain an 
entrance ; not until he admits his helplessness to originate 
living power or thought, does he think of asking; and 
certainly if he neither asks nor seeks never will he obtain 
the smallest instalment of truth. Man therefore cannot be a 
true worker in nature until he is a servant in nature, and how 
can he be a servant if he assumes his mental power to be 
superior to physical or natural law ? 

Mr. Buckle maintains that moral force is stationary, for 
though this force is presumed to affect the whole of man's 
actions it does not produce the least effect upon mankind in 
the aggregate, or even in large masses, if precaution be 
taken to study social phenomena for a period sufficiently 
long, and on a scale sufficiently great, to evidence the control- 
ing and overruling power of a higher natural law. 

The conclusion of the essayist is this, namely, that the in- 
tellectual movement of mankind is more important than the 
theological, because the last is stationary, and that religion 

H 



98 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



and literature are merely the effects of civilization, and not 
the causes of it, the reverse of which would be the case if 
religion was a really active motive or moral force ; civiliza- 
tion, says Mr. Buckle, depends upon the intellectual move- 
ment, and the law of its progress can only be ascertained by 
studying the growth of knowledge. 

A man's real morals are his motives; not what he professes, 
but what he actually performs, is his religion or morality. 
In investigating antecedent classes of motives or influences, 
or why this man does this, and that man the other thing, it 
is evident that mere profession must be set aside, for it results 
in nothing, because it was not a motive or true moral force ; 
consequently, when Mr. Buckle shews that it is civilization 
which has made religion, and not religion that has fashioned 
civilization, it is plain that by the term religion is meant that 
vocalization, sol-f'a-ing, or mere profession by its votaries, 
and therein he hits the great blot in the boasted superior 
claim of mankind to be more moral than the brute. By 
morals and religion is meant that conventionalism, or traditional 
belief, which it is the unceasing desire of all true prophets to 
break down, to overcome that tendency to social stagnation 
that is boastingly called the glorious development of civilized 
life, which in some respects is little superior to savage life, 
and in not a few particulars positively worse. 

Some of the results of civilization are instanced in abuses 
and tyrannical usurpations that barbarism is free from. Many 
political institutions, called conservatives of law and order, 
are but contrivances for oppressing and impoverishing the 
masses ; and religion, that ought to give enlarged and 
quickened power to the human mind, is, by the tyranny of 
man over his fellow, made an instrument, like the 
" scavenger's daughter," to depress vital power in man and 
weaken his intellect. 

The distinction by theistic professors, between moral and 
immoral forces, is insisted upon for the maintenance of man's 
prerogative. Can any one be rash enough to assert that the 
motives that impel what are called brutes, to satisfy their 
bodily appetites, are immoral proceedings? If they are 



INFLUENCE OF RELIGION UPON CIVILIZATION. 99 



nature's motives they surely are not immoral, and if not 
in these cases, how are they immoral in mankind ? If the 
difference in morals is in degree only, then the highest 
morality attainable by any man may be, and undoubtedly is, 
immoral in relation to a higher class of motives of which he 
may be ignorant, or unfitted by his position in nature to be 
sensible of. If man's sensibility is limited, most assuredly 
his action must be equally circumscribed, for all his idealiza- 
tion is sensational experience, and consequently progress is 
essential for life and immortality. 

To assert that physical law is not moral or religious 
training, is to say by implication that it is immoral or sinful, 
and what may not this lead to? We shall slide round 
to Persian theology again, with its Ormuzd and Ahrimane of 
good and evil powers. As it has come to pass in the Orient, 
so it will assuredly follow in turn in the Western hemisphere, 
that all morality, religion, and civilization, shaped by man- 
kind's intuitive consciousness of theological good and evil, 
will become stereotyped and incapable of making any 
progress. What Europe now is it may be myriads of ages 
to come, unless men awake to shake off the incubus of 
atheism constructed by themselves. 

True liberty is conditional, it is not independent action 
such as every man for himself as the centre of the universe, 
this is falling down and worshipping the idol of self or Satan. 
True religion is duty, duty done neither by slavish fear of 
hell fire, nor with a sneaking prospect for reward ; it is the 
practical application of the eternal law of rectitude, " Thou 
" shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him [only shalt thou 
" serve." Therefore free will is the real chaos in civilization. 
It is a mistake, an absurdity, and actually no real freedom at 
all ; for if men were actually free why should many destroy 
themselves when their god walks off with their cash bags and 
respectability. 

Exception has been taken to Buckle's doctrines, by the Rev. 
R. B. Drummond, who has published a lecture delivered in 
St. Mark's Chapel, Edinburgh, containing some suggestions 
by way of replying to certain objections advanced to the 

H 2 



100 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



doctrine of free will, by Mr. Buckle, in his History of Civili- 
zation in England. 

Mr. Drummond admits that Mr. Buckle's objections to 
the doctrine of free will are founded upon well ascertained 
facts, that they are weightily urged, and in every way 
worthy of attentive consideration. He says : — 

"I do not see that any choice is left us, but either to 
f< reply to them, or else abandon the doctrine of moral re- 
<( sponsibility." 

He admits further — 

" That law may be traced through the actions of large 
" masses of men is now pretty generally known, and will 
" not probably be disputed." 

And remarks — 

<e My reply to the whole argument derived from statistics 
" is briefly this, on the hypothesis of free will, which is cer- 
ct tainly not absurd or impossible, one law would notwith- 
" standing be found to exist in the actions of men. The 
" fact that such law does exist cannot therefore affect the 
" doctrine of freedom." 

Again — 

" I say, then, that human actions, let their origin be what 
" it may, must be reducible to law if you only include 
" in your calculation sufficiently large numbers of men." 
Mr. Drummond yields up the ghost thus : — 
" The most zealous advocate of the doctrine of free will, 
" must admit that man's freedom moves within very narrow 
" limits:' 

" Let it be understood, that no absolute or unconditioned 
" freedom belongs to man, only a freedom subject to the law 
" of the race and character of the individual. Nor does the 
" doctrine of free will teach that we can act without motives, 
ct for that probably is what no man ever yet did," 

This is the whole question, and it is amazing to find theo- 
logians blind to their own discomfiture. 

Mr. Buckle denies the doctrine of free will, on the ground 
that not only is a general law or order traceable through 
history, but that this order is so certain and so invariable as 



SACERDOTAL BASIS OF MORAL RESPONSIBILITY. 101 



to leave no room for individual freedom, (that is, absolute 
freedom,) relative freedom is not denied. But what is rela- 
tive freedom ? A prisoner on parole is not free, though at 
liberty to move within certain limits. Mr. Drummond says, 
that human freedom moves within very narrow limits. Then 
all the good that men can do is very limited, and all the 
reward they can expect is very limited ; but eternal, which 
is self-existent life, is the absolute, and it is free grace or free 
gift, not a reward at all. To base religion and morals upon 
the relative or limited, is to build upon a rotten and sandy 
foundation, for the relative is conditioned, imperfect, and in 
one sense opposed to the absolute. To found religion on the 
science of the absolute and eternal, on the basis of responsi- 
bility for good and evil, is to repeat the theism that caused 
Adam's fall. For morality, based on good and evil, is 
morality based on conventionalism, which changes every 
century. That which is regarded as virtuous in one age, is 
vicious in the next. To deduce the doctrine of immortality 
from the existence of theological evil, making a future life 
necessary to reward and punish the deeds committed here, 
is contrary to science and revelation. Why should Adam 
and Eve have looked upon their marital connexion as un- 
chasteness, or as requiring purification before meeting God. 
It became sin to them when they became conscious that it 
was sin ; had they been ignorant, or repudiated the conven- 
tional theology of their day, they would not have been 
ashamed of their intercourse. If they had regarded human 
good and evil as relative and necessarily associated with 
man's present condition in the universe, they would not have 
been poisoned with the sacerdotalism of that epoch of civili- 
zation. 

Mr. Drummond contends for theology in this style of 
pleading v — 

" What the advocate of free will maintains, is not that we 
" have the power of acting apart from these impulses, but 
" that we have the power of choosing between them. Upon 
" this point, then, the necessarian and the free wilier are at 
" one, both allow that man always acts from a motive. The 



102 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



" former, however, asserts that he must always obey the 
" stronger, the latter accords to him a choice, involving 

" moral responsibility between the better and the worse 

" He is conscious that it rests with himself to choose, and 
" that he is responsible for his choice, meriting blame and 
" punishment if he prefer the bad (worse) ; approval and 
" rewards of virtue if he seek the good (better)." 

Now Mr. Buckle's statistics went to shew the very limited 
range of human choice. The argument was to prove, that 
men do positively obey the stronger of two motives, what- 
evar they may be conscious of as regards obeying what they 
may choose to consider the weaker motive. 

If man's freedom is limited, so must also be his responsi- 
bility, and consequently his reward and punishment must be 
equally circumscribed. But the scheme of theism that 
bases upon good and evil, assumes the absolute or eternal 
nature of man's reward and punishment. So that theism 
actually overshoots in this way its own mark, and makes the 
Deity of absolute justice or goodness no Deity at all, which 
is precisely what the scepticism of theism asserts. What sort 
of a judge would he be that should decree eternal reward 
for very limited or imperfect service, and contrawise should 
condemn to eternal punishment those unlucky wretches 
whose sin was but very limited and imperfect? Jesus has 
distinctly told us, that the eternal Father neither judged nor 
condemned any man, but delegated all judgment to the " Son 
u of Man." If the Son of Man judge the world, will he, 
nay, can he, take the theology of this age as his guide? 
Theologians must wait and see. 

Mr. Drummond admits that a law of nature may be found 
ruling the actions of men, but he attempts to take the sting 
out of this confession by contending that 

" Laws of nature have no objective existence whatever ; 
" they belong only to the mind, they are simply the expres- 
" sion of facts, over which they possess no power ! It is the 
" aggregate of facts which make the law ; and not the law 
" which constrains the facts (!) " 

And he argues that, 



POSTULATED SUPREMACY OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS. 103 



" It is not gravitation which causes the apple to fall to the 
" earth, but the fact of the apple falling, combined with 
" innumerable kindred facts, which gives birth in the mind 
t( of man to the law of gravitation." 

The lecturer maintains that laws of nature are only 
generalizations, and, therefore, possessed of no power. They 
are the result of facts, not their causes. 

It seems almost a waste of time to reply to this, for 
according to this view, chance may make law if chance only 
knows its business. By chance we mean facts, facts are 
fortuitous aggregates of stray atoms, two atoms or facts set 
up gravitation, and so on ! Professor Faraday's exposition 
of gravitation, however, does not endorse this novel system 
of atomic fluxions. He contends that gravitation is one 
form only of a universal law or uniform process that causes 
each atom to gravitate. This force is constantly present in 
each atom and in all space, so that two particles (or facts) 
are not necessary to set up gravitation, but each particle or 
atom gravitates in obedience to its relation to that omnipre- 
sent process which causes it to gravitate ; and the Professor 
argues that all scientific deduction leads to the irresistible 
conclusion, that the great and governing law is essentially 
one. 

Mr. Buckle discredits the doctrine of free will, because it 
is based on a purely metaphysical dogma, that of the supre- 
macy of human consciousness ; a supreme jurisdiction which 
sets at defiance all logical methods of sifting evidence, and 
involves two gratuitous assumptions, first that this conscious- 
ness is an independent faculty, and not an attribute of orga- 
nization, and secondly, that the evidence given by this 
consciousness is infallible. He contends that consciousness 
is not an entity per se, but is simply " a state or condition 
" of the mind," and therefore should and does admit of 
modification of its testimony by sensible experience, as Sir 
"William Hamilton himself admits. " The facts of conscious- 
ct ness are alway veritable, as we are conscious of a witness 
" testifying, but this does not include that which is testified." 

Mr. Buckle's argument is this: That the testimony of 



104 



NECESSITY AND FEEE WILL. 



history shews the fallibility of human consciousness, and that 
the truth of any particular doctrine is not proved by its 
being generally asserted to. He says : — 

" All the great stages through which, in the progress of 
ef civilization, the human race has successively passed, have 
" been characterized by certain mental peculiarities or con- 
u victions, which have left their impress upon the religion, 
st the philosophy, and the morals of the age. Each of these 
" convictions has been to one period a matter of faith, to 
(C another a matter of derision, and each of them has, in its own 
" epoch, been as intimately bound up with the minds of men 
" and become as much a part of their consciousness, as is the 
(t opinion which we now term freedom of the will. Yet it is 
" impossible that all these products of consciousness can be 
" true, because many of them contradict each other. Unless, 
" therefore, in different ages there are different standards of 
" truth, it is clear that the testimony of a man's conscious- 
<f ness is no proof of an opinion being true, for if it were so, 
" then two propositions, diametrically opposed to each other, 
" might both be equally accurate." 

The following epistle is pertinent to this subject. 
" Sir, 

" A friend of mine witch he is mewtual, 
" informs me that you are open to an offer of services from a 
" man of literary talents, wich I have had a liberal education 
" in awl things, inclooding french, and such dead langwidges. 
" My diversities is too numerous for paltry discripshion, they 
" inclewd everything that is known in a man required for an 
<c amanuensis, and secretary's duties ; also I am mewsical 
" inclined, playing the villin, and barril orgon if wanted, 
" and not afeard to stand afore any man not above 6 feet 
"in highth, and 12 stone weight; whitch you would find 
K uncommon yewsful in settling dispewts with your neigh- 
c< bours. I know something of crimnal law, and juries 
<c prewdence, having been some years in the french gallows 
" along of sticking one man instead of another, whitch the 
" dead man's friends woodent take no explanachions wich I 
66 was willing to give, witch was taking my pigs to a pretty 



CONTRADICTION OF MORBID SELF CONSCIOUSNESS. 105 



" market ; and was very unfourtunate for me, as was made 
" the miserable victim of a unhappy misteak. 

" I am quite sober now, and hates beer and gin like pison, 
" rum is what I like, but I never get screwed on that eksept 
" in a friendly way ; but I was morally convinced of the 
" evils of intemperance by physical force, having driven 
" over several childern, a sow, and an old beggar ; whitch 
" I looks opon them as special interposichions of a merciful 
" providence to keep me in the way of the catechism ; as 
" temperance, soberness, and chastisement, and to love, 
" honour, and suckle my father and mother. 

se I was a sextant in the church once ; but was led to see 
" the blastphemy of an establishment by the Rev. Zeruiah 
" Wyndbagge, so I received from him a new berth, and 
<e joined the Ebeneezers, strictly limited by careful inspechion 
" to seven hunderd, including women without childern ; but 
" after 4 years they was all mewtually excommunicated 
<f but three ; and as I could not reconcile my orthodoxy to 
" the afflicting opinions of my two theological opponents, 
" I was obliged, for my conscience sake, to excomunercate 
" them, and go to heaven by myself ; when the heratics and 
" schismatics charged me with embezzling £40 of the chapel 
" funds, wich I tried to pervert a Jew, and got nothing for 
" my propagandaism but a hogshead of rusty steel pens, and 
" some thousend pieces of small cut injan-rubber. I have 
" had experience in business ; first in a banking firm witch 
" was run on by the police, whitch was a great shame, as we 
" was all limited liabilities ; and our liabilities was all assets, 
" and no mistake, and I was casheir in a menagerie, and 
" left, owing to a paltry dispewt of seventeen pounds wich I 
e i never received at all, but lost promiscuous though a hole 
" in my pantaloons ; but I am really a moral man in spite 
" of all my unhappy misfortunes. If you was a leetle groggy 
" at times I woodent mind, having had charge of some queer 
" cases of all sorts^ some stark mad, and some only in 
" delirium tremens ; but it is not what I can do ; but wot 
" I will do, as is my device. What I always say, is, pay me 
" liberal, and ask no perplexing questions. Every man in 



106 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



" this world for his self, and stick fast to what's his own, and 
" what he can onestly pick up, as others never don't see to 
t( miss it ; that's my law and gospel. 

" I am, 

" Yours &c." 

No name is published for obvious reasons. 

Now, the defects apparent in this correspondent's style 
arise from mental obliquity, which evidently results from 
perverted consciousness. 

What will cure him of his intuitive convictions? 

Dr. Moore, in his work entitled " The Power of the Soul 
over the Body," speaks of morbid consciousness thus: — 

<f Perverted consciousness commences when men fail to 
" obey the laws of their constitution, which laws require 
" them to attend to other objects rather than to themselves. 
" Equilibrium is destroyed by inward and selfish attention, 
6e and intellectual eyesight becomes confirmed in its obliquity. 
" Nature requires men to sustain their health by proper 
" application of mind and body in acquiring knowledge 
" from things around them, and reciprocal interest in fellow 
" creatures ; efforts to concentrate attention on the process 
" of a man's own thoughts begets confusion ; mastery over 
" their own minds is not in men's power, except in obedience 
" to the social law of fellowship. 

<e To think with safety, men must think naturally, that is, 
" in relation to others ; men's thoughts must lead to action, 
" that is, action is man's destiny. Observation is the basis 
" of ability, and outward exertion the best security ; but 
" self-consciousness, or attentive analysis of the operations 
es and sensations of men's own minds, endangers the well- 
" being of reason, and is a frequent cause of insanity ; hence 
" then arises the paramount importance of sympathies being 
" suitably excited, for this is the proper mental culti- 
" vation." 

* * * ee r£h e commencement of hypocrisy is abstrac- 
" tion from common interests to attend to 'self.'" 

Sir William Hamilton maintains that the self-contradiction 
of human consciousness has not been and cannot be proved, 



I 

INSANITY RESULTING FROM PERVERTED CONSCIOUSNESS. 107 

and that there cannot be valid discrimination between true 
and false deliverances of consciousness, because this would 
imply the possession of a faculty higher than consciousness, 
which is the judge ; and there is nothing to guarantee the 
veracity of this higher power : and he pleads that it argues 
nothing against the trustworthiness of consciousness that 
all or any of its deliverances are inexplicable or incompre- 
hensible, that is, that we are unable to conceive through a 
higher notion how that is possible which the deliverance 
avouches actually to be. To make the comprehensibility of 
a datum of consciousness the criterion of its truth would be, 
indeed, the climax of absurdity ; because the primary data of 
consciousness, as themselves the conditions under which all 
else is comprehended, are necessarily themselves incompre- 
hensible. To ask how an immediate fact of consciousness is 
possible, is to ask how consciousness itself is possible ; and 
to ask how this is possible is to suppose that man possesses 
another consciousness before and above that human consci- 
ousness whose mode of operation Ave attempt to analyze. 
Could men answer this, verily they would be gods, says 
Hamilton. 

Again,—" Primary and ultimate facts which cannot be 
" resolved into any higher principle, must, as the basis of all 

human reasoning, necessarily be believed to be true. Con- 
" sciousness must be believed unless it can be proved to bear 
" false witness ; but consciousness is the sole witness possible, 
" and therefore can only be condemned out of its own 
" mouth." 

Now, Hamilton has contended that consciousness cannot 
be condemned out of its mouth, because the ultimate facts 
in its nature are to him an inscrutable mystery. He 
contends that man knows by conscious testimony ; but his 
knowledge is limited to this fact, and does not and cannot 
extend to how this evidence can be. Thus the philosopher, 
far excellence, of this century, stops short at the most 
important point of all ; and he allows his followers to build 
theories upon his conclusions, to the effect that the human 
mind is a free agent disconnected with mighty chains of 



108 



NECESSITY AND FKEE WILL. 



natural phenomena, because the relative character of human 
consciousness is made absolute on the ground of inscrutability. 
Hamilton asserts that consciousness cannot be proved to 
bear false witness, because it is the " sole witness " possible ; 
therefore it must be condemned out of its own mouth, which 
he maintains cannot be done. 

The very fact of human testimony being limited to 
deliverance of evidence of " itself " as the sole witness of 
truth, is the precise ground of condemnation upon which the 
great judge of account must set aside the verdict of man's 
judgment as false ; for if the deliverances of human 
consciousness is the witness of self, it must necessarily be 
false- witness, because it is confessedly self-evidence and 
does not exist in relation to any other thing or entity. 

It is a proverb as old as the hills, and one that was quoted 
by the Jews against Jesus of Nazareth, that if a man bears 
witness of himself, that witness is untrue. And this is so 
because no entity that exists has been created to live as an 
end in itself ; but on the contrary, everything exists only in 
relation to the whole, and this necessitates the interdependence 
of everything. The deliverances of human consciousness, 
as they are confessedly those of a witness testifying of himself, 
are by the very nature of their sole evidence necessarily 
false ; because they do not plead relation to any interdepen- 
dent arrangements in the universe, but limit their testimony 
to se/f-witness ; and if a man bears witness of himself such 
witness is untrue, for no being exists absolute in itself, but 
only in relation to another. Consequently it is quite 
possible to condemn the testimony of human consciousness 
out of its own mouth, and upon the very ground taken by 
Sir William Hamilton to build his impregnable citadel upon. 

The deliverances of consciousness are those of reflection 
or imagination ; but if the images or reflected objects thrown 
off the sensorial mental mirror are of self, or brother man's 
inadvertent thoughts, they are aborted or premature concepts, 
and not the vital germs begotten of a true parent of genuine 
procreative power. 

The mental mirror of man will cease to subtend the rays 



TESTIMONY OF SELF WITNESS NECES3ARILY FALSE. 109 



of reflected images, equal in angles to those of incidence, if 
the mirror be perverted by squinting upon self. 

Mental obliquity or latent insanity commences, as 
confessed by Dr. Moore, by gradual and unperceived self- 
deception. This strabismus of mind is unnoticed when the 
sap commences, for the siege of the citadel is conducted by 
those skilful engineers, Generals Deception and Delusion, who 
never fire their mine until failure is impossible, so that the 
unhappy garrison are blown into what is vulgarly called the 
condition of "smithereens," while all are slumbering in 
fancied security. 

The assumed knowledge of the absolute, infinite, and 
unconditioned, vitiates all philosophy where it is maintained 
as a basis of reasoning. Hamilton abandons it, but when 
he comes to argue upon the phenomena of human conscious- 
ness, he drops the chain of merely relative and conditioned 
knowledge, and implies that the facts of consciousness are to 
all intents and purposes absolute, because he cannot see how 
an image, and a conscious image, can be reflected from a 
material organization. 

He implies that the human mind is conscious of things as 
they exist in themselves, and not as they are related to this 
sensorial image reflector — the human mind. He says the 
ee primary data " of consciousness are themselves the conditions 
under which all else is comprehended, and that such data 
are necessarily incomprehensible, because? Why simply 
because the philosopher has severed the human mind from 
its necessary connection with the interdependent relations 
that one entity sustains towards another throughout the 
universe. 

Divine revelation itself is not of Deity as he exists per se, 
absolute, infinite, and unconditioned ; but only as he is 
related to the being or relative who reveals him. The 
witness of this relative is never of himself; but only as a 
conditioned being who is related to the infinite, indefinite, 
and otherwise incomprehensible. Consequently his witness 
is never that of a sole witness whose evidence is true of 
itself, but it is true because accompanied by corroborating 



110 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



testimony which to man appears preternatural because it 
transcends his limited power of comprehension. 

The meaning of the proverb, that the light of the body is 
the eye, evidently is that all consciousness comes through 
perception, and if that eyesight be only of phenomenal 
effects, as related to that perception, it follows that if such 
sight be imperfect, then conscious existence is purblind, since 
knowledge comes from without, and not from within or from 
the mind itself. Then if the eye be darkness, how great is 
the darkness in which consciousness exists ? 

The assumption that the evidence of consciousness is an 
inherent, immaterial, or spiritual power, antecedent to all 
sensational experience, and therefore more than that state 
or cerebral condition which is the result of psychical activity 
consequent upon external impulse, is the logical sequence of 
the larger assumption of the immortality of the human soul 
or mind, which, in defiance of the evidence of all true 
positive science, and revelation in the Bible, is maintained to 
be an existence or entity that is not dependent upon a 
material or nervous apparatus. Let any person accustomed 
to sustained thought ask himself the question, what innate 
or intuitive conviction he came into the world with ? and 
what he would suppose his individual consciousness would be 
if he had been deprived of all external influence ? Let him 
endeavour to divest himself of all sensational experience, of 
all that he has acquired by reading, or hearing viva voce of 
others, of everything seen, heard, felt, and tasted, and then 
ask himself the question : what would my innate ideas amount 
to without this sensational ; experience, would they amount 
to, or be worth, anything at all ? There are many avenues, 
or nervous wires, to the sensorial mirror of consciousness, but 
suppose them to be blocked up or broken short from infancy 
what would that mental mirror reflect, and what becomes of 
this consciousness at death ? If it is axiomatic that moisture 
is essential to cerebral action, how can it be continued in 
a dead body ? 

No man has power to conceive of any conscious being 
existing without a material organization ; the wildest false- 



FALLACY OF THE INTUITIONAL HYPOTHESIS. Ill 



hoods about ghosts and spirits always imply something 
connected with an organization. 

Intuitional a -priori psychologists maintain that there is a 
certain principle existing in the human mind that acts as 
a special creative faculty, contributing to form mind or 
mental action; a fountain of internal cognitions ; antecedent to 
all experience and observation ; an independent sovereign, or 
regulator of mental movements, but which they have no 
power to describe, contenting themselves with saying that it 
is <tf an element," an inscrutable power, not to be analyzed 
because homogeneous with the supreme existence of wisdom 
himself. 

In reference to this system of very precarious philosophy, 
Professor Baden Powell remarks very pertinently: — "It is 
c< a theory appealing powerfully to imagination, very 
" plausible and very pleasing to human nature. The habit 
" of referring everything to ultimate principles, originating 
" as intuition in the human mind itself, saves the trouble of 
cc further anlaysis, and supplies specious explanation of mental 
" phenomena, gratifying the desire of penetrating the secrets 
" of our nature, and the love of the mysterious ; a species of 
" occult philosophy, harmonizing with the mysticising ten- 
" dencies of the present age, but conceived in a spirit the 
" very antithesis of the simple and positive character of the 
" inductive method, and although sanctioned by great names, 
" rather a retrograde movement, evincing a lingering attach- 
" ment to the scholastic mysticism, if not in some sense an 
" actual revival of it." 

It is remarkable that those who have, of all men, the 
poorest chance of ever making themselves intelligible to 
minds of the stamp most commonly met with in everyday 
life, are nevertheless the most admired for their learning, as 
if wisdom consisted in Sidrophel-like obscurity and cloudy 
ambiguity. These professors of what is called faith anterior 
to reason and logic, omit no opportunity for expressing their 
undisguised abhorrence of the inductive sciences, which they 
stigmatise as mere rationalism, although they have before 
them for reference what they profess to believe and teach, 



112 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



namely the record of Jesus of Nazareth's life, where is 
expressed beyond controversy his approbation of the Roman 
centurion's faith, which was founded upon his conviction 
from observation of Jesus's work, that his commission was 
the doing of God's will by as strict a discipline of law, order, 
and obedience as he exerted over those soldiers who were 
under his charge, the centurion himself being under authority 
in like fashion, or commissioned by the supreme or imperial 
power of Rome, so that as the soldiery were obedient to 
their officer because he was himself under authority and not 
his own master, so Jesus also controlled the powers at his 
disposal as under authority, and as commissioned to work by 
law, order, and discipline ; consequently he was not working 
contra, super, or unnatural deeds, or doing his own will, but 
actually obeying the power whose authority he thus 
acknowledged and revealed. 

The argument of those who oppose a priori psychologists 
is, that they conceive the power of abstraction in mental 
operations is an unconscious force by which the mental 
faculties do indeed create new combinations of ideas or 
conceptions, but that they are invariably formed out of 
materials acquired insensibly or what appears to be insensibly, 
and by the subtraction of properties and particulars of 
material objects, not by the addition of them; that the 
logical analysis of induction exhibits syllogisms in which a 
certain amount of assumption is implied beyond and 
apparently independent of accumulated facts, but ever liable 
to correction by subsequent experience of external and 
objective realities, thus the fountain of original thought is not 
inherent in man. The universality of law and order is the 
distinguishing feature of the inductive philosophy ; cause and 
effect, so far as the human mind can penetrate, are but relative 
terms, and successively higher generalization is all man can 
hope for. The chain of causation seems endless, therefore to 
pretend to knowledge of the absolute is merely an empty 
boast that wise men will avoid. 

George Combe defines Law in common acceptation to 
denote a rule of action, whose existence denotes an 



COMBE ON" THE CONSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN MIND. 113 



established and constant mode or process, according to 
which phenomena take place, this law exhibits appearances 
with regularity. 
He says, — 

" Supposing the human faculties to have received their 
" present constitution, two arrangements may be fancied as 
" instituted for the gratification of these powers. First, 
" infusing into them at birth intuitive knowledge of every 
e( object which they are fitted ever to comprehend ; and, 
f< second, constituting them only as capacities for gaining 
" knowledge by exercise and application, and surrounding 
" them with objects bearing such relations towards them that 
" when observed and attended to they shall afford them high 
" gratification, but when unnoticed and neglected, they shall 
" occasion them uneasiness and pain ; then the question 
" occurs, which mode would be most conducive to enjoy- 
" ment ? The general opinion will be in favour of the first, 
61 but the second appears to me to be preferable, because 
" activity is essential to enjoyment." 

The anxiety of philosophers to establish hereditary pre- 
possessions, and the fears expressed by them that old beliefs 
may one day give way before the steady progress of the 
inductive sciences, is often given to the public in a form of 
lecturing that combines the pathos of Jeremiah's lamenta- 
tions with the ludicrous contortion of visage that accompany 
the howls of a vexed child. 

Dr. Guy, the Secretary of the London Statistical Society, 
when comparing the returns of fifteen years of births, 
marriages, and deaths, remarks that " Fluctuations occurring 
" from year to year in events brought about by the combined 
" action of a variety of causes are not fortuitous ; " again, 
" The amount of annual fluctuations in any given series of 
" returns decreases, as the number of facts within the same 
" area of observation increases ; " and then he remarks, " In 
" cases where the disturbing element of human will is most 
" conspicuous in producing results, the fluctuations are by no 
" means greater than in those cases which result from 
" circumstances over which that will has no control." 

i 



114 



NECESSITY AND FREE WILL. 



The annual fluctuations of birth is about 2 per cent- 
do. marriages 3| do. 
do. deaths 9 J do. 

" So that in the instance of marriages, under control of the 
" human will, the fluctuation is positively much less than in 
<f deaths, most beyond that control. The highest fluctuations 
te occur occasioned by zymotic diseases, such as the small-pox, 
" measles, scarletina, and typhus fever, and the lowest 
f< fluctuation is observed in nervous and brain diseases, in 
(< some degree occasioned by human will." 

"Experience shows that events brought about by moral 
<f causes are as free from fluctuation as those brought about 
" by natural causes, and that the rate of fluctuation due to 
" the concurrent operation of a large number of moral 
" causes falls short of the fluctuation observed in the class of 
" zymotic diseases, in which most variable and obscure 
<f phenomena of atmospheric influences are brought to bear 
" on the human body, although largely affected by the 
<c operation of other physical causes, whether within itself or 
" external to it." 

Dr. Guy repudiates the conclusion that equality of 
numbers in these statistical records indicates identity of 
character, and argues the question as follows, — 

" The fact is this, all analogy sets itself against the 
" attempt to infer the nature of a cause from the figures 
" which measure its intensity. We continue as ignorant of 
<c the essential nature of gravity as we were before Newton 
" clothed its phenomena in a garb of figures. We remain 
" without any real knowledge of the essence of light though 
" we know to a mile the rate at which it travels, and we are 
" as far from grasping the nature of the electric fluid as we 
" were before Wheatstone so ingeniously contrived to 
" measure its velocity ; and if the real nature and essence of 
,c these powers of nature are not to be learned from any 
" numerical expression of these phenomena, however exact, 
" what hope is there that we shall be more successful in 
" inferring the real nature of the human will from the 
" figures that express the aggregate results of its operations, 



RETURNS OF THE LONDON STATISTICAL SOCIETY. 115 

€C and what fear lest the foundation of morals and religion 
" should be shaken by the numerical coincidences between 
{e these results, and others in bringing about of which human 
<i volition has had no share." 

It may be true that the real or absolute character of the 
human will cannot be obtained from figures expressing the 
aggregate results of its operation, but that is no reason why 
its relative position in the chain of cause and effect may not 
be shewn by comparing it with other potential agents. The 
avowed design of quoting statistics was to show the relative 
and not the absolute value of the human will as compared 
with other disturbing elements, and it is demonstrated by 
such comparative method that the position of this human 
will in the scale of power is very much below natural 
processes, not only a bad second but apparently alto- 
gether distanced in the race. No one expects to arrive 
at the essential nature of the cause of zymotic diseases by 
studying statistics of the per centage of deaths brought 
about by their agency, neither can we expect to deduce the 
absolute nature of the human will from the per centage of 
marriages affected by its agency in a given amount of 
population, but what is really looked for is the aggregate of 
disturbance in social phenomena brought about by these 
agencies, and thus the conclusion is logical that if the human 
will, as evidenced by its effects in marriages is far inferior 
as an interfering power to the phenomena produced by badly 
comprehended natural causes in social life, then the 
potentiality of natural processes is far superior to that of the 
human will. There is certainly no warrant for asserting that 
any ultimate or absolutely final causation is to be discovered 
in either of these powers, the conclusion is limited to the 
verdict of relative values, and since the less cannot possibly 
contain the greater, it is permissable to argue that natural 
processes, being superior to the human will, do actually 
envelop or contain the latter as being the less. 



116 



CHAPTER VI. 

PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 

A MAN who pleads in any cause before the public in the 
present day, will find it necessary to abandon the task of 
narrowing his arguments within the bounds of dry syllogistic 
logic, by no means to be despised; but inasmuch as man is 
not wholly a reasoning creature, it is necessary to arouse his 
emotions, and for this purpose the powerful weapons of 
satire, declamation, and perhaps a spice of vituperation, are of 
great use in appealing to his auditor's sense of the sublime, 
pathetic, or ludicrous, to add force to the pleader's arguments. 

I take the position of a necessarian, who sees in man's free 
will the true chaos in civilization, and I quote for evidence a 
few newspaper reports, to demonstrate from the panorama of 
passing daily events, my assertion, that the atheism of pro- 
fessing believers is of a more positive and absolute character 
than the avowed neutrality of certain secularists, who prefer 
to suspend their decision in theistical subjects, and who 
openly and honestly confess their doubts of the much 
vaunted advantages of conventional theism. 

If I get vituperative, it must be understood that it is only 
against that huge idolatry of roaring cant, and against the 
bigotry, insolence, and stolid ignorance of mere professors 
of religion, of whom Dr. Channing has well said : — 

" Christianity is at this moment adopted and passionately 
" defended by vast multitudes, on the ground of the very 
" same pride, worldliness, love of popularity, and blind 
" devotion to hereditary prejudices which led the Jews and 



FEEE WILL THE CHAOS IN CIVILIZATION. 117 

" heathen to reject it in the primitive ages, and the faith of 
" the first is as wanting in virtue as was the infidelity of 
" the latter." Is it from 

" Pulpit, drum ecclesiastic, 
Beat with the fist instead of a stick," 

that the public must expect to hear the trumpet notes of truth? 

Dr. Charles Mackay answers no, when he claims for the 
press an influence and directing power superior to the pulpit 
or the legislature, both of which, as he truly says, have so 
far waived their functions by withdrawing from direct com- 
munication with the body of the people. 

It has been suggested, and with very plausible conjecture, 
that the " white horse " upon which the great champion 
rides, figured in the apocalypse of St John's, means the white 
sheets of the press. Looking at the immense power wielded 
by the pen, and its instrument the press, this interpretation 
does not seem far fetched. 

The idols of civilization are symbolized in this hierogly- 
phical apocalypse as horses, representing the literature of 
various sciences, which are none of them sciences of life, but 
contrarywise of death. 

Death rides on the white horse, (white sheets of) the 
literature of false philosophy, on the red (bloody) horse of 
military science, on the black (pen and ink) horse of mer- 
cantile and manufacturing wealth, on the pale (sickly) horse 
of medical quackery, disease, and intemperance. 

Study carefully Hogarth's masterly satire of " Paul before 
" Felix, in the Dutch style." 

Here we have a fine and spirited illustration of the 
ludicrous farce of laying blame upon anybody but the real 
culprit, for right under the very nose of the august repre- 
sentative of the " Senatus Populus-que Romanus," some 
nasty fellow has evidently been disturbing that peculiar 
order of sanctity, &c, &c., that ought always to pervade the 
atmosphere of a court of justice, and every one around the judg- 
ment seat is holding his nose, and indicating in various, but 
perfectly unmistakeable gestures, that he is satisfied that the 
judge himself is to blame for this unsatisfactory and truly 



118 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



intolerable state of things. One man, however, appears 
sceptical, he is not to be led away by conventional opinion ; 
earnestly intent upon the absorbing business of nibbing his 
pen he says not a word, but he evidently thinks all the more 
for thus maintaining silence. 

And, by the way, observe that the accused has resorted to 
the deaf and dumb alphabet, whilst laying down the law, 
Judge-Blackstone fashion. The judge looks puzzled and 
anxious, as if he really could not help it. 

Now for the newspapers. Here is the Melbourne 
" Argus," which professes to be eternally employed in 
debating with its hundred-eyed conscience, whether it means 
to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth, inasmuch as it is located in that most sacred of all 
places, where conscience stipulates or demands that it shall 
be spoken without reserve. 

The following is from the " Argus' " sixpenny broadsheet, 
of 8th November, 1858. 

The Argus. — Published Daily. 

" I am in the place where I am demanded of conscience to speak the 
u truth, and therefore the truth I speak, impugn it whoso list." 

Theatre Royal.— The Green Hills of the Far West and The 
Critic. 

Princess's Theatre.— The Opera of La Favorita. 
Executions at the Central Gaol. — On Saturday the extreme 
penalty of the law was exacted from the two convicts, Samuel Gibbs 
and George Thompson. They were both convicted of murder at the 
last Criminal Sessions of Ballaarat. Thompson murdered a man named 

Hugh Anderson, and Gibbs murdered his wife, Anne Gibbs, by throw- 
ing her down a hole about 60 feet deep. From the time of their arrival 
in Melbourne both criminals were assiduously attended by the clergy- 
men of their respective denominations. Thompson, who was a negro, 
a native of St. Domingo, professing to be a member of the Church of 
England, was attended by the Rev. Mr. Stoddart, the Chaplain of the 
gaol for that church. Gibbs was a mulatto, a native of Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, and a Wesleyan. He was constantly attended by three 
or four clergymen of his church. At first, Thompson was perfectly 
stolid, but' two or three days before his death he became more amen- 

ale to the teachings of his spiritual adviser, and was induced to confess 
his guilt and acknowledge the justice of his sentence. Gibbs, on the 
contrary, asserted his innocence to the last. 



PUBLIC EXECUTION OF CRIMINALS. 119 



On the morning of their death both the murderers, when called out, 
appeared to be dreadfully afraid of the fate which they themselves had 
inflicted upon others. Thompson, who could with demoniacal ferocity 
slaughter a drunken digger for the sake of the few pounds he might 
have about him, could not without trembling face the hangman, as he 
stood, rope in hand, ready to prepare him for the scaffold. Gibbs, who 
in his ungovernable rage could seize his wife, drag her screaming for 
mercy over a distance of some hundreds of feet, and then, with a 
ferocity almost unequalled, hurl her into an abyss, at the bottom of 
which she was found mangled, crushed, and dying, now tottered and 
quailed as he witnessed the array that was prepared for his own death. 

The preliminaries having been completed, the convicts, trembling in 
every muscle, were led to the scaffold; they were both assisted up the 
ladder. On the drop Thompson was perfectly passive, but Gibbs 
struggled hard. He first tried to get off the trap-door and take refuge 
upon the permanent boarding. In doing this he felt the rail behind 
him, and grasped it firmly with his pinioned hands, at the same time 
crying out, "Mercy! mercy! I'm an innocent man; good people pro- 
" tect me. Oh God ! oh God !" In the midst of these cries, and as the 
voice of the clergyman was heard reading the funeral service, the wife- 
slayer's hands were disengaged from the rail* He was pushed forward 
on the drop — it swung from beneath the feet of both criminals. 
Thompson was at once a dead man ; not so with Gibbs. The impetus 
of his forward motion on the drop became combined with his down- 
ward motion, and instead of descending perpendicularly, the rope was 
brought with violence against the lower edge of the beam, which is 
angular, and then it broke short off, and the wretch was precipitated to 
the floor below. He was immediately taken up, nearly insensible, and 
carried again to the scaffold. As he got there he began to revive, so 
far as to be able to scream, as well as the tightened rope round his neck 
would permit. The rope was quickly knotted, the officers saying to 
each other, " Quick, quick, stand out of the way." The assassin once 
more swung from the gibbet. He was then two or three minutes in 
dying. 

At the inquest that followed, the fact of the rope having broken was 
given in evidence, and also that it was the kind of rope that is always 
used for such purposes, and was in this, as in every other instance, sub- 
jected to careful examination before being used. 

Here society shoots its rubbish into the ash pit of death, 
having of course seen to the proper instruction of its 
members that laws must be respected, three or four clergy- 
men constantly attending one man, probably in turns, as 
more than one at a time might distract the doomed man's 



120 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



mind ! How he appreciates their teaching, and prepares for 
eternity ! Eternity, indeed ! Does he in any way believe 
in such preparation ? He could have very little faith in the 
three or four parsons' representations. The man clings to 
the very last stick of the gallows, with the tenacious clutch 
of most awful despair, for he feels himself slipping into hell, 
and consequently he very naturally struggles, as any animal 
would do. His butchers bungle, and the man is positively 
as hard to throttle as a full grown cat ! 

The Attempt at Suicide. — The man who attempted to commit 
suicide by cutting his throat at the gate of the Benevolent Asylum, is 
likely to recover. Some statements having been made in connection 
with tliis case, reflecting on the management of the Benevolent Asylum, 
we publish the following explanation of the facts, which has been fur- 
nished to us : — Mooney, who has recently arrived from Adelaide, where 
he has resided for a number of years, left his wife and some grown-up 
members of his family there, and has some other grown-up members of 
his family resident in this colony. His apparent reluctance to give any 
information as to the ability of his family to support him, or to afford 
the Committee the means of communicating with them, was not satis- 
factory to the Committee. On these points no information could be 
obtained from him. His personal appearance did not indicate much 
debility, and as in addition to anything that he might earn, he is in 
receipt of a small pension as a discharged soldier, the Committee con- 
ceived there were far more urgent claims before them, and therefore 
refused his application on its merits, and not on any mere informality. 
Fortunately the injury Mooney did himself was not very deep, and as 
it was inflicted in the public street, where it was consequently promptly 
attended to, I am happy to be able to add, on the authority of the 
resident medical officer of the Asylum, that, instead of remaining, as 
your paragraph says, " in a very precarious state," the man's life is not 
conceived to be in any danger. 

Thompson and Gibb3 do not seem to have exhibited much 
faith in their conversion and claim to immortality ; but this man 
Mooney, what could his object have been? The newspapers 
seem full of these melancholy cases of self destruction. Can 
suicide by any means be proved to be no product of civilization? 
What causes these unhappy incidents to be so plentiful ? Old 
and young, rich and poor, widowed, married, and single, all 
seek refuge from themselves, from their own minds as their 



PROTESTANT ASSEMBLIES AND THEOLOGICAL EMEUTES. 121 



worst enemies, and that mind said to be immortal, and conse- 
quently divine. What a satire ! Mooney cuts his throat at 
the gate of the Benevolent Asylum too. The conjunction 
sounds somewhat ominous for their committee. 

The subject of Church. Union was still exciting considerable atten- 
tion, and a counter-memorial to that requesting the Bishop to invite 
Mr. Binney to preach in one of the Episcopal churches was being 
signed. The Advertiser says : — 

" The ecclesiastical movement with which Mr. Binney's name is so 
prominently identified has just taken an unexpected turn. The 
memorial to the Bishop, signed by His Excellency the Governor-in- 
Chief, and numerous influential Churchmen, has been met by a 
counter-memorial, at the head of which stand the highly respectable 
names of the President of the Legislative Council, the Hon. the Sur- 
veyor-General, and the Hon. Major O'Halloran. There is, perhaps, 
nothing so very remarkable in the fact of a counter-memorial being 
prepared, as a High Church protest against a movement which had 
for its object the admission of a 1 Dissenting ' minister into the pulpit 
of an Episcopalian church; nor can we quarrel with the counter- 
memorialists, however much we could have wished that they had felt 
themselves able to co-operate in so essentially Christian and charitable 
a plan. This is, however, their business; and we shall only add that 
if Episcopalians choose so to nurse their bigotry as to exclude them- 
selves from the advantages of hearing within their own sanctuaries 
the c unordained ' minister whom they follow from lecture.-room to 
lecture-room, and from 1 conventicle ' to 1 conventicle,' it is quite their 
own matter. Mr. Binney's co-religionists are perfectly satisfied to 
keep Mr. Binney to themselves, although their liberality would have 
willingly given him up for the universal good.'' 

Here is this melancholy religion still bandaged up in its 
swaddling clothes of church systems. Mr. Binney, who 
ought to know better, aspires to the priest's office apparently, 
but the respectable laity of the establishment are bigoted 
enough to induce their priests to order him off. 

MR. DENNING'S WEEKLY select QUADRILLE PARTY will 
meet "this evening," "PROTESTANT HALL." — It is requested 
that ladies be more attentive in the production of the Assembly cards, or 
they will be refused admittance. Cards to be obtained only on personal 
application early in the day. Pupils to present the class tickets. All 
visitors to appear well attired. Vacancies for gentlemen pupils in the 
day class. 



122 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



Here we have the indefatigable Mr. Denning busied as 
usual, in " extracting gold out of cat-gut scrapings," and 
superintending quadrilles at the "Protestant Hall." He 
insists upon his lady patronesses providing themselves with 
cards of respectability ; of course, founded upon proper proof 
of their being virtuous females. Now it is evident that these 
certificates must either be white lies, or else they are to be 
obtained as truthful indices, by a peculiar process of inves- 
tigation, known only to the initiated, or that paragon of 
medical respectability, the illustrious Dr. Louis L. Smith. 

Educational Institute. — T)ie monthly meeting of this society was 
held on Saturday afternoon, at 2 o'clock, in the Scots School, Collins' 
Street, Mr. M. Cutcheon in the chair. Two gentlemen were admitted 
as members of the Institute. Mr. Inglis was appointed as one of the 
secretaries, on the resignation of Mr. Trythall. A letter from the 
Secretary of the Denominational School Board promised that the 
request of the association, that that Board would retain in its own 
hands the power of dismissal of its teachers, would be early considered 
by it. In reply to a memorial of the Institute, requesting that degrees 
be granted on examination alone, the Council of the University stated 
that the subject had been frequently under notice both before and sub- 
sequent to the date of the petition, and that there was every probability 
that in a short time degrees would be attainable without compulsory 
attendance upon lectures. It was mentioned that the council had recently 
announced their adoption of the above principle, and would make cor- 
responding arrangements for next year's examinations. The professors 
wished the attention of the teachers to be drawn to the classes held at 
the University on Saturday mornings, designed specially for them, as 
at present the attendance was somewhat limited. The subjects of the 
lectures were mathematics, Greek, and constitutional history. After 
some discussion on the objections made by Bishop Perry to the recent 
regulations issued by the Denominational School Board, to restrict the 
local boards from taxing their teachers' incomes to an undue extent, it 
was resolved to draw up a memorial to the Governor in Council, praying 
him not to refuse his sanction to those rules so necessary for the protec- 
tion of the teacher. A communication from Mr. Colin Campbell, M.L.A., 
was read, suggesting that the Institute should call a general meeting of 
the profession of teachers, in order to elicit their views on the subject 
of education. He considered that such a meeting would have much 
influence in drawing the attention of the Legislature to the necessity of 
some settlement of the question being arrived at this session. 

An opposition concert to Denning 's fiddling at the Protes- 



DEATH ON THE PALE AND WHITE HORSES OF LITERATURE. 123 



tant Hall, on the educational harmonicon! Bishop Perry, 
however, does not play in tune, and his " fetch," Mr. Colin 
Campbell, M.L.A., proposes to give a solo on his flageolet to 
charm the deaf adders in parliament. 

Necessity of some settlement, Mr. Campbell ! why does not 
Dame "Necessity" get delivered of her daughter "Invention," 
she is past her time ere this surely ? Does denominationalism 
weaken the nervous system? 

BOOKS of all the OPERAS, with music of the principal airs. 
Dwight, Bookseller, near Parliament Houses. 

D WIGHT, Bookseller, near Parliament Houses, BUYS, exchanges, or 
sells on commission. 10,000 volumes at low prices. 

FOR good BOOKS, at lowest prices, go to Glenny Wilson's, 172, 
Bourke-street, east. Books purchased. 

GUIDE to HEALTH, — a medical work on nervous debility, with plain 
directions for perfect restoration to health and vigour. By Perry, 
and Co., surgeons, 50, Lonsdale-street, east ; and 210, Bourke-street, east. 
Price, 2s. 6d. ; post paid, 3s. 

IN the press, with addenda, MONEY; where shall I deposit it for 
Security and Income? 

GREEN TENT MURDER. — M'QUEENEY'S CAST just received. 
Phrenological Museum, opposite Eastern Market. 

Here we see how education tries to take care of itself ; ten 
thousand volumes of a species of Japanese literature at low 
prices ! Quality no doubt to suit the price. The intimation 
that good books are on sale by another seller is in a following 
advertisement, and the number of these superior productions 
is not stated in tens of thousands as the low priced collection 
above was. Then we have one of those obscene abomina- 
tions, that have contributed mainly to aggravate and spread 
the very class of nervous diseases they so kindly profess to 
cure, altogether unknown till these beastly specimens of 
medical quackery polluted the minds, and ruined the health 
and morals of whole communities. A juvenile treatise on 
pecuniary troubles, that has apparently got jammed in the 
press ; with addenda ! what is the addenda ? A lecture on the 
effodiuntur opes irritamenta malorum 9 That work on the 
currency question has been long looked for. 



124 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



Green tent murder and portrait of the author for sixpence. 

This question about proper systems of education is one of 
the most pitiable pieces of quackery now rampant. Instruc- 
tion and education are jumbled together, and instead of broad 
views, we have narrow cliquism of that sham religious order 
that is more repulsive than any other form of self deception. 
It is coolly assumed that unless state catechisms of theological 
speculations are inculcated in schools, there can be no in- 
struction of any sort afforded ; because the better educated 
he church- avoiding masses are, the more dangerous, insub- 
ordinate, disrespectful, and disloyal they are sure to be. 

Now for extract from the Melbourne " Herald" of same 
day. The motto of this newspaper is "Impartial, not neutral;" 
which they interpret to mean " All things to all men:" "every 
thing by starts, and nothing long :" — 

A Black Business. — It would appear as if the aborigines of Victoria 
were at length about to take a prominent position in the affairs of their 
own country. Not to mention the Committee of inquiry, the appoint- 
ment of which Mr. M'Combie demanded with such emjjressementf 
scarcely a week passes that they do not appear before us connected with 
pome incident of sorrow or crime that ought, at all events, to make us 
blush for the results of European civilisation at the Antipodes. Now, 
we hear of an old lubra, dying a mass of disease in some den near the 
border ; and although her shrieks, the result of combined illness and 
hunger, are so audible as to find a ready chronicle in the local press, not 
a solitary hand is put forward to relieve her agony ; later still we find 
two aborigines arrested for murdering a drunken white man who broke 
into their corroboree, sent for brandy, and reduced himself to even a 
lower state of brutality than theirs : and one of the latest developments 
of the question is the conviction of two blacks at Ballaarat — rejoicing 
in the names of Old Man Billy and Young Man Billy — for the 
murder of another aboriginal of a different tribe, whereupon re-arises 
the curious legal "question" whether we, the British possessors of this 
territory, have any right to try the natives for murder, when the victim 
happens to be of their own race and blood ? Nobody who reads the 
Victorian journals need be told that this point has frequently been 
raised before ; that the law officers of the* crown have formally pro- 
nonnced upon it ; and that a long list, including names no less dis- 
tinguished than those of the Hon. Mr. Plunket, of New South Wales, 
and Chief Justice Stawell, have given it as their opinion that the 
blacks ought to be permitted to butcher each other with impunity, the 



SOCIAL SCIENCE AT THE ANTIPODES. 



125 



law only applying to them when they venture an experiment upon the 
blood of a white man ! If this doctrine were known to the humane 
Europeans who first " colonised" Australia, it would doubtless have 
afforded them infinite consolation ; for, instead of having to expend 
their money upon poison and powder to extinguish the natives, they 
need only have exerted their diplomatic powers in encouraging them to 
slaughter each other. As it happened, the race has faded away rapidly 
enough ; but if the true theory of the law were understood the existence 
of a real aboriginal would at this moment be as problematical as that of 
the bunyip. 

Of course we may presume that such eminent authorities would not 
pronounce such a decision upon insufficient grounds ; and it is to be 
hoped that Mr. M'Combie's Committee will elicit all the information 
that can be gleaned upon the subject. In the meantime it is attempted 
to justify it by three arguments — 1. That murders among the 
aboriginals — " murders in se" as they are called — are simply executions 
for offences against their own laws ; 2. That it is almost impossible to 
rely upon the evidence of aborigines given in our courts ; 3. That after 
all, we have no legitimate control over the blacks, as we have never yet 
completed their conquest. This last is considered the most powerful of 
the trio ; and it is understood to be the sole ground upon which the 
Executive have commuted the sentence of death passed upon the two 
aborigines now in the central gaol, who were convicted of the brutal 
murder of their dusky brother. 

Now, after all, what is the real pertinence of these arguments, judged 
by the criterion of common sense ; and it is our proud boast that British 
law is the essence of common sense For example, take the question of 
" aboriginal evidence ;" it was chiefly upon the evidence of an aboriginal 
woman, Kitty, that the blacks were convicted at Ballaarat. If her 
evidence were inadmissible — above all, if the Court had no right to try 
the prisoners at all — what use was there in going through the mockery 
of a trial ? What renders this evidence business more absurd, is the 
fact that the law has over and over again winked at inter se aboriginal 
murders, even although committed in the presence of whites. But then 
we have no right to interfere, forsooth, as, after all, we never " conquered'' 
the blacks ! Could there be a more preposterous proposition, in the face 
of the abject spectacle presented by the few thousand wretched natives 
still extant? Where are they to be found assuming an attitude of 
defiance or even independence? Does the human form anywhere 
present a more degraded picture than that of the male or female 
aboriginal of Australia? Conquered! Certainly we have conquered 
them — conquered them " off the face of the earth." Perhaps those 
who use the phrase really mean that we have not civilized them. 
Quite true, we have preferred the process of brutalization. 

The inter se theory stands, if possible, upon less tenable grounds. It 



126 



P ASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



is asserted that the blacks only kill each other " according to law,'' — 
according to some mysterious code prevalent among themselves. It is 
not very wonderful that those well-informed individuals who say this, 
do not tell us the nature of this aboriginal law ; and thus have sub- 
stantial justice done without rendering our own trial by jury a farce? 
If there be any such law, and that it is not merely the " wild justice of 
revenge,'' let us recognise and adopt it in some intelligible way; but we 
should prefer ignoring its existence altogether, and punishing as well as 
protecting the aborigines through the ordinary courts of justice. 

It is impossible for any generous mind to dwell upon these exhibitions 
of combined cruelty and cant without anger and shame. We have 
coolly usurped possession of the entire territory of the aborigines; and, 
as an excuse for not extending them the protection of our laws, we 
plead that we never " conquered them." Flying from the guilt and 
misery of the old world, we found here one of the mildest and most 
docile of aboriginal race s ; and after inoculating them with vices and 
diseases they never knew before, we repudiate the responsibility of their 
coming extinction. In reply to a circular, issued by the select com- 
mittee on Aborigines, in 1849, Mr. Dalolt, of Brighton, in the 
Wimmera district, gives this sketch of the primitive condition of the 
natives : — 

When we first meet the aboriginal on his virgin soil, it is in camp, in the purity 
of his native air, the abode of a night or two, his arms and opossum rug his 
only encumbrance. What food he has was obtained by the sweat of his brow > 
and is clean and wholesome, whether of the inhabitants of the waters, the fari- 
naceous root of the flower of the field, or of the locust or creeping things that 
roam on the face of the earth. His mode of cooking, however disgusting to fas- 
tidiously refined imaginations, is such as not a few of us have been glad to resort 
to when compelled by necessity, the great mother of all our ingenuity, luxuries 
and refinement. His bodily health, agility, and watchfulness are next to pro- 
verbial. 

Contrast this with the horrible picture he gives of the native con- 
taminated by the white man : — 

We are first saluted by a host of half- starved leprous mangy dogs. The filth 
about the miamies proves them to have been occupied more weeks than days. 
Here, coiled in luxurious sloth, partly concealed under a dirty rug or blanket, or 
a heap of rags of all hues, partially sewn together with grass, we find the heir of 
the soil. The object beside him, with hair disordered, and hands and face coated 
with manure, with here and there a streak of a lighter shade (perspiration 
having done the duty of soap and water), and whose nakedness is in some measure 
covered under the tattered folds of what was once a tunic, made after the latest 
fashion, squats his youngest lubra. In her hands she has a shell with which she 
scratches his back and limbs, which are one mass of small pimples, from 
many of which we see blood and matter exuding ; this is the disease the aboriginal 
calls bong bong, — a kind of itch mange taken from their dogs. A child of about 



THE SCHOOLMASTER WANTED ABROAD. 



127 



twelve months' old stands beside her, with the breast in its hands, to which he now 
and again applies his mouth, squeezing and draining out the last drops of the en- 
venomed nectar which has hitherto sustained life, but at the same time inoculated 
it with pestiferous disease, the result of its mother's prostitution, and which is 
painted in its countenance, and further betrayed by running sores in various parts 
of the body. Yon hag, with glutinous eyes and snivelling nose and mouth, 
which she now wipes with a pieee of bark or other equally primitive nose rag, 
surrounded by whelps of all ages, is giving suck to tbe most favoured of her 
household dogs. Yes, suckling the whelp with that milk which nature supplied 
for the purpose of rearing her progeny. Her last was a female child, and no 
sooner was it born, than with savage rage she murdered it with her yam stick. A 
few dirty crusts, the sweepings of some hut, and the putrid remains of the lights 
of a sheep or bullock, are the sorry indications of the family's last meal, 

This was written in 1849, the "Protectorate'' having been in existence 
ten years ! Is it any wonder that, after carefully taking evidence, the 
Legislative Council the same year concluded their report with this 
emphatic sentence . — 

Your committee wish to express their opinion that, without underrating the 
philanthropic motive of her Majesty's government, in attempting the improve- 
ment of the aborigines, much more real good would be effected by similar exer- 
tions to promote the interests of religion and education among the white population, 
in the interior of this colony; the improvement of whose condition would 
doubtless, tend to the benefit of the aborigines. 

Let us hope, however, that something will now be done to atone for 
the past. From Mr. M'Combie's committee we may expect much, 
especially as we understand that it merely anticipated by a few days a 
proposition of Mr. Duffy's, who has already, as President of Land and 
Works, given practical proof of his sympathy for the aborigines in 
Gipps Land and elsewhere. 

Is not this rank abomination sending up foul odours to 
heaven's awful throne ? 

Here we see the customary adjuncts of the boasted 
civilizing influences of the white race; the rum bottle and 
the venereal disease, decimating by thousands and tens of 
• thousands, the poor aborigines ; not alone in America and 
Australia, but wherever the pale-face shows its angelic 
lineaments. The wish of the committee is plain enough, 
they desire to teach the white population better deeds than 
polluting and degrading their black neighbours, for it cannot 
be denied that the poor blacks were much better behaved 
folks before the civilized man introduced his social evils 



128 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



amongst them. " But the Australians took to it promiscuous 
like." did they, Sir ? Pooh ! pray don't cant. 

So Messrs. Plunkett and Stawell have no regular standard 
to guide them in morals better than expediency — Oh dear, 
dear ! 

The Argus, of 9th November, reports proceedings at 
another educational harmonic meeting ; Bishop Perry in the 
chair; and the above Doctor of Laws, now Sir William 
Stawell, the Chief Justice, is said to have expressed himself 
as "trembling" when he saw the tendency in the home 
country, as well as in this colony, to secularise the Sabbath, 
and do away with its sanctity. Well, well, it is truly con- 
soling to find that there is some piety in men in authority ; 
but is this genuine, or is it only playing second fiddle to the 
bishop's " hey, diddle diddle," while Mr. Colin Campbell 
blows his " whoo-too-to-too" through a wheezy old flute? 

These three unhappy fellows are in the predicament of 
the men who Came " all the way from Manchester, and got 
no work to do-o-o-o." So they try peripatetic philosophy, 
and, with hands under aprons in a row, solicit charity on the 
actual-starvation dodge ; while they propose to spend all their 
means and energies in building a temple to illustrate the 
scriptures, wherein is written the promise, that the most high 
and mighty God, inhabiting eternity, dwelleth not in temples 
made with hands. 

But Sir William Stawell, I have not done your roasting 
yet, I must have you turned over and done brown on the other 
side. So you tremble sometimes, do you ? Are you shaky 
in your legs ? Try a course of Holloway's ointment and pills. 
I have seen some very astonishing cures advertised as effected 
by this truly wonderful panacea, where persons suffering from 
bad legs and blushing have been cured, after enduring in- 
describable agony for fifty years with exemplary patience. 
But you don't want to be cured of blushing? Oh well, 
perhaps it does look well in moderation. But your mind is 
somewhat palsied with cant; Holloway's pills will scarcely 
reach that complaint, at least there are no cases advertised. 
You may, perhaps, be the first to figure in the list. For my 



SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF RELIGION. — THE SABBATH. 129 



part, Sir, I know no cure for this wide-spread social ulcer 
but genuine religion; and as a man in your position in 
society ought to communicate a tone to its life, pray get well 
purged from this malady of cant. Your predecessor, on the 
judicial bench, always abstained from this disagreeable hurdy- 
gurdy sound of religion : allow me to hint that you drop him 
a friendly note, and request the loan of a text book on the 
subject of Christianity, illustrated with cases and marginal 
notes for ready reference and precedent; and, by the way, get 
a copy of the decalogue of Moses, you will find some useful 
hints when you have had sufficient leisure to peruse it. 
Do not come before the public in this fashion again. 

The following letter from an inhabitant of Fiery Creek, who sends 
us his name, displays so much earnestness, that we are induced to 
publish it, though we hardly approve of the composition : — 

" Sir, — As it is the duty of every Christian to helieve that, by their faithful 
prayers to the Almighty, they can have their needful wants supplied, and which 
has been proved by our faithful prayers in the time of war, dearth, famine, and in 
cases of pestilence ; and now as the summer months are on, and as the musqui- 
toes and the blow- fly are so great a nuisance and a plague or pestilence to us, and 
which two insects are the cause of more cursing and swearing by men in this 
colony than through any other cause; therefore, Could not the minister of every 
denomination have a prayer formed and offered up to the Almighty to have these 
two insects destroyed. In fact, go no further than see how much flesh meat is 
totally destroyed in this colony every year by the blow-fly, and the longer they 
live the more wickedness is the result. I have seen a good deal of life myself, 
and have scarcely ever heard so much cursing and swearing about anything as 
against the blow-fly and the musquito, and against the God that made them ; 
and that they do not think there is a God, or he would not annoy them so with 
such troublesome insects. Is it not dreadful for a Christian man to hear his 
Maker cursed for such like, where, if some minister would kindly take it upon 
him to have a prayer formed for the occasion, to be offered up in all places of 
worship, for a Sunday or two ; and should it please the Almighty to do away 
with those two insects through those prayers, it would then convince all ignorant 
people that there is a God, and will then seriously let them see what prayer to 
the Almighty will do, as this colony is mixed up with all sorts and conditions of 
men ; and I am convinced, if some miracle as the above was granted by the 
Almighty, it would have more effect upon the minds of people than what a 
twelvemonth's lecture would have. And it must be allowed by every one, that 
the blow-fly and the musquito are as great a nuisance and pestilence as we can 
have or be burdened with. 

" Trusting, Mr. Editor, for the good and welfare of all our fellow- creatures, 
and for the prevention of so much blaspheming, you will have no objection to 

K 



130 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



insert this in your paper, and that it may be the means of publicly drawing the 
attention of some ministers to the matter ; and oblige, Sir, a constant reader of 
your paper." 

The above is also from the " Herald," and emanates from 
some " sndorifically " pious person at Fiery Creek. It is plain, 
however, that his aim is simply to bring all philosophy based 
upon the theistic hypothesis into contempt, for the writer 
inclines to ne-theistic speculations. The editor says this 
piously positive philosopher displays so much earnestness 
that he is induced to publish his letter. Perhaps the editor 
would like to favour his readers with the report of an earnest 
conversation carried on between four or five bullock drivers, 
and thirty- two animals of a lower development, upon the 
stock subject of "necessity and free will" as exemplified 
(not in American nigger-driving,) but in urging the cattle in 
their drays to get over the ground at somewhat increased 
speed. Earnestness indeed ! Why what is the complexion 
of the thing but flat blasphemy ? He insinuates what he 
dares not say openly, and thinking himself, pretends that 
others say his thoughts. If he does not, he is an awfully 
bad composer, or rather decomposer of the Queen's English, 
so the thing must be criticised as it stands. 

He says in effect, that it is the duty of every Christian to 
believe that the Almighty alters the laws of his wonderously 
even-balanced creation to suit the convenience of a few 
heretical thinkers who demand this tribute to their seraphic 
intelligence. He says that it has been proved that faith- 
ful prayers for cessation of wars, dearths, famines, and 
pestilences have been answered, whereas it is transparent 
that he means his readers to pronounce the very opposite 
opinion, and that is one reason why the above theological 
effusion was penned. God does not, and never did attend 
to prayers in the way this man proposes to tempt him to 
answer them. He thinks that the petition of the musquito- 
bitten proprietors of the fly-blown butcher's meat will not 
be answered, and then that will shew, what he desires to 
demonstrate, that there is no God. A true Christian never 
tempts his heavenly Father by asking for miracles to prove 



THE USE AND INFLUENCE OF MIRACLES. 



131 



himself, and he petitions not for cash bag and gig respec- 
tability, well knowing that riches are snares, and a well filled 
belly disposes to slumber and death. The language of his 
prayer is, that he may be strengthened and sustained in his 
power of patience and endurance under what may be 
adverse circumstances. He does not pray for miraculous or 
special interposition in his favour, but that he, as a servant 
of eternal power, may conform to the conditions and collec- 
tive arrangements of the surrounding universe, though they 
may be adverse to his own inclination. But this Fiery 
Creek correspondent of the impartial and ever neutral 
" Herald" says, "To go no further," (he could go further, 
that is, if he liked,) " than see how much flesh is destroyed 
" by the blow -fly," and then he proceeds to describe, with 
evident gusto, the extra quantity of cursing, swearing, and 
blaspheming, with which he has been regaled in the colony. He 
has seen a good deal of life, but never heard so much satanic 
language before. A great deal, however, depends upon 
where he has seen life. In the French galleys men swear in 
their own tongue, so doubtless our friend may not have com- 
prehended, and perhaps he has, as yet, not been favoured 
with practical experience of the tone of conversation adopted 
in other convict stockades. He says that he never heard so 
many God-forsaken scoundrels cursing and blaspheming 
because they happen to be musquito-bitten, or lose a few 
pounds of butcher's meat, and they don't think that there 
is a God, or there would not be such troublesome insects as 
musquitoes and flies. But surely it is not necessary to eat so 
much butcher's meat in summer, and if it was not for ths 
flies, the air would be poisoned by the effluvia of rotting 
carcases. 

So he endeavours to lay a trap for ministers, and asks 
them to concoct a prayer, knowing well that the Romanist 
and Anglican priests would not combine, even if Rabbi 
Cohen, and the other dissenters consented to do so. He 
laughingly says, " if these fellows don't get up this prayer, it 
"will shew that they cannot agree, and among so many 
" different religions, how is a poor cove like me to know 

K 2 



132 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



" vich to choose ? " Still if they do offer up such a prayer 
for a Sunday or two, (say two, that is time enough,) and 
should it please their Almighty to work a miracle to remove 
these insects, then he may consent to be converted, and look 
for some further miraculous interpositions for the eradication 
of bugs, fleas, and other and more immediate annoyances. 
But if no such miracle is performed, why then you see 
that there is no God, which is what he desires to shew, and 
then he coolly asserts, by way of enforcing his peculiar views 
of ne-theistic philosophy, that a miracle like the one he pro- 
poses for performance, would have more effect upon the 
minds of unprejudiced people like himself than a twelve 
months' lecture. Twelve months!! Observe this, that he 
proposes to allow the Almighty two or three weeks, against 
the parson's whole year. 

If this does not serve to illustrate my meaning of the 
satanic nature of man's self-seeking mind, I don't know what 
will satisfy sceptical folks. 

The Drink Demon. — Awful Sequel to a Week's "Spree." 

The following shocking narrative is published in Tuesday's Ovens? 
and Murray Advertiser, November, 1858. 

" A paragraph appeared in the Border Post some short time since of a 
man who had lost himself in the bush in the neighbourhood of the 
Little River, while in a state of delirium tremens. We happened a 
few days since to call at the station where the unfortunate man now is, 
and as the notice of the occurrence in our Albury contemporary does 
not exactly give the facts, we will describe them. It appears that this 
man had been splitting and fencing for a considerable time on Stuckey's 
station, near the junction of the Little River and the Mitta Mitta, and 
having drawn a pretty heavy sum from Mr. Stuckey on the termination 
of the work he had been engaged about, he determined to get jolly on 
the strength of it, and forthwith started for Yackandandah, having in 
his possession, as we are informed, upwards of £70. " Fools and their 
money are soon parted," and in this case, at the end of a week from 
the time of his entering Yackandandah the poor miserable victim found 
himself the possessor of a solitary shilling, and no more. There was 
no alternative but to return from whence he came, and, " whistling to 
keep his spirits up," he commenced the retrograde movement, neither 
a wiser nor a better man, in all probability, than he had been before. 
Arrived at the Little River, where we are informed he showed no signs 



DEATH ON THE PALE HORSE OF INTEMPERANCE. 133 



of the awful state of his mental powers at the time, lie there spent the 
remaining shilling referred to, The same afternoon, in company with 
another man, he struck a bargain with Mr. Mitchell, of the Little 
Kiver, to do some work on the station, and the following day they com- 
menced the job in earnest, both men having accomplished a very hard 
day's work. It was in the middle of that night that the effects of the fearful 
quantity of ardent spirits which he had drunk became apparent. He 
got out of bed without the knowledge of his mate, in a state of delirium 
tremens of the most aggravated nature, and wandered away from the 
station. Now follows the terrible catastrophe. For ten days and 
nights the wretched man roamed about among the ranges a raving 
maniac. Every day it rained, sometimes in torrents, and the nights 
were marked by the sharpest frosts we have had for a long time. How 
life remained within him under those fearful circumstances for so long 
a period is almost incredible, but the tenth day he found himself high 
up a range, and with sufficient strength to raise himself a little and to 
endeavour to rally his poor deranged intellects as to the events which 
had preceded that first moment of consciousness. Taking notice of his 
situation he discovered that he was speechless, and was unable to open 
his mouth, which was firmly glued together. He had on the tattered 
remains of a shirt and trousers, which were the only articles of clothing 
he had on when he left the station. But his legs were the worst ; he 
had no feeling in his feet, and had not sufficient strength to ascertain 
the extent of his injuries. The warmth of the sun's rays however soon 
revived him to a certain extent, and his awful condition was fully re- 
vealed to him, for horrible to relate, on attempting to rise and walk, 
his toes, which had been frostbitten , fell off one after the other until 
the whole of them on one foot and three or four on the other had gone; 
maggots of an inch and upwards in length were preying on his flesh. 
Binding his feet in the remains of his shirt, the wretched man hobbled 
as well as he could towards a green spot which he perceived from 
his elevated position, and which he imagined to be land under cultiva- 
tion. He at last succeeded in reaching the Little River, where after a 
good wash, he was able to open his mouth, which he at once made good 
use of by taking a long drink of the water of the river, and a hearty 
feed of marsh mallows, of which there was a large quantity growing 
on the bank of the stream. Feeling refreshed after this, he wandered 
for some hours, without being able to discover any signs of the presence 
of mankind, until at last he reached a spot where splitters had been at 
work, and where a fire was still burning, He felt that death was close 
at hand, and felt a sort of satisfaction at having reached a place where 
his body would probably soon be found, and not be torn to pieces by 
the native dogs, which were howling as if in anticipation of what 
would follow, all around him. He was found in this awful condition 
some time after, by the splitters, still alive. They conveyed him with 



134 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



the greatest care to Mitchell's station, where he has received every 
attention at the hands of Mr. Mitchell, the proprietor of the station, 
and is now approaching convalescence. He will never again, it is sup- 
posed, he able to work hard ; his legs being contracted, and his toes 
completely gone. When we saw him he was crawling on his hands 
and knees at the station. This terrible history should act as a warning 
to those who follow the practice, so common in men engaged on stations, 
of "knocking down" in this manner, money hardly earned by months 
of constant labour. 

The above miserable tale needs no moral to adorn it, it 
conveys its own trumpet -toned lesson, and what a lesson ! 
Some may think it exaggerated, experienced bushmen are, 
however, cognisant of many deaths from delirium tremens 
or " horrors " as they call the temporary insanity resulting 
from the nervous derangements brought on by excessive 
drinking of strong spirits. It may be said, that he was 
hocussed with bad stuff. We find the following notice in 
the same paper, that a good deal of spurious brandy is im- 
ported, requiring forcible remedies to mitigate the evil. 



1* Australian Colonies, for Messrs. OTARD, DUPUY, and CO., do 
hereby give notice that we will forthwith proceed at Law, or otherwise, 
as we may be advised, against any person or persons who may or shall, 
by themselves or their agents, Sell, or cause to be Sold, any spurious 
Brandy, purporting to be the Brandy of Messrs. Otard, Dupuy, and Co. 
DE PASS BROTHERS and CO., 24, Queen-street. 
Melbourne, 19th August, 1858. 

This is a fair warning from a well-known and extensive 
mercantile house, whose motto is one that is adopted by a 
numerous class of modern establishments; namely, that "it 
" is not the profitsh that we livsh by, but the shtroke of 
" pusiness vat ve dosh." It is to be hoped that they find such 
principles profitable. But dear me, they are not going to 
confine their proceedings to legal measures. They say very 
coolly " or otherwise, as we may be advised." Now there is 
really no saying to what horrid extremities they might be 
urged by bad advice ; perhaps they think that public notice 
justifies some violent course of action, which it would be un- 
lawful to pursue without proper advertisements. Any way, 




ACCREDITED AGENTS in the 



SOCIAL ANOMALIES AND FAMILY JARS. 



135 



however, the intimation is important, and the warning 
doubtless will have the desired intimidating effect. Could 
Mr. Tankard, of the well-known Lonsdale Street Temperance 
Hotel, afford these merchants some illegal advice? The 
Maine liquor law might furnish a precedent or two perhaps. 

A Sad Case.— Julia Bailey, an interesting-looking girl of thirteen 
years of age, was charged at the City Court yesterday, with stealing 
wearing apparel from her father. The father, who was in court, stated 
that his daughter had recently formed a very bad acquaintance, and 
would not remain at home- On Tuesday evening, whilst he was from 
home, the prisoner entered the house through the window, and took 
away all her wearing apparel. Her mother was in gaol for continued 
drunkenness, and he could not control her. The Bench asked if she 
had no relations to whom she could go. The father said that the 
prisoner's sister was married to a restaurant keeper in Elizabeth-street, 
with whom the prisoner had been staying ; but her bad temper upset 
everything. She would throw articles of crockery at the head of her 
brother-in-law, and had at last caused a separation between the husband 
and wife, when they were obliged to send her home again. The Bench 
asked the girl whether she would go back and live with her father. 
When the prisoner bursting into tears said that she would rather drown 
herself first, as her father treated her very badly, and she lived very 
uncomfortably with him. The Bench ordered her to be remanded until 
to-day, when she would be in a better state of mind. 

Unfortunate Miss Bailey ! Here is a melancholy exhibition 
of unnatural parents, and correspondingly bad children. The 
wretched mother is always drunk and in gaol; the father 
treats his daughter very badly ; she amuses herself by smash- 
ing crockery, setting married folks by the ears, and from the 
fact of her refusing to stay at home, probably goes to 
Denning's select protestant assemblies, and other places of re- 
fined amusement. 

Here we have some statistics of police business: — 

Police.— City Court.— Tuesday, October 9. 

(Before D. R. Long, Esq., chairman, and Mr. Thomas.) 

The following persons were fined for drunkenness . — Thomas Jones, 
Michael Whelan, William Jamison, Joseph Brown, AVilliam M'Bride, 
Robert Simmons, John Moran, Collins Brown, John Hatch, John 
M'Jones, Isabella M'Donald, and Catherine Cook. 



136 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



John Larkin was brought up for leading an unbroken horse through 
the public streets, and fined 10s. 

William F. 3Iorris was brought up charged with being drunk and 
disorderly in Collins-street. Cautioned and discharged. 

Sarah Sutherwood, Ellen Lineghan, and John Sutherwood, were 
charged with vagrancy, and robbing John Soule of a sum of £37 in a 
house of ill fame. Remanded for seven days. 

Mary Smith was charged with being disorderly and fighting in the 
streets at three o'clock in the morning. The officer saw a crowd out- 
side prisoner's door, and saw her beating a cabman. There seemed to 
have been some provocation, and prisoner was discharged. 

William Pete was charged with threatening and assaulting the police 
on Saturday night last. The policeman said that prisoner told him that 
if ever he again caught him in his right of way he would knock his 
brains out. The defence was that the policeman had unnecessarily in- 
terfered with a valuable dog, the property of the prisoner, and that the 
words used were " If you kill my dog, I'll half-murder you." Mr, 
Reid, who conducted the defence, called several witnesses, who deposed 
to the fact stated in the defence. In order to protect the police a fine 
of 40s. was inflicted. 

Maria Sturgess and Janet M'Lachlan were brought up charged with 
stealing £5. No prosecutor appeared, and prisoners were discharged 
with a caution. 

John Thomjison, accused of obtaining money under false pretences, 
was remanded till next day. 

First on the list are twelve (f drunks," as our Yankee 
friends call these inebriated specimens of reasoning animals. 
Then one man appears to be carrying on his natural pro- 
pensities, supposed by some philosophers to be influenced by 
a name : and another " drunk" is reported to have been 
cautioned, but not fined ; and then we come to three against 
one, in defiance of all laws of fair play ; see how they over- 
reach themselves ; by a little exertion of intellect that is the 
prerogative of modern civilization, one might have grabbed 
the whole booty ; but when it has to be divided amongst 
three, it leaves them only about twelve pounds each. What 
is a paltry sum like £37 cut up amongst so many ? It is 
hardly worth the bother, to say nothing of the risk of losing 
character. Miss Mary Smith engaged thrashing a cabman 
at the untimely hour of three o'clock in the morning ! Is it 



POLICE EEPOETS. — CATHARTIC REMEDIES. 137 



possible to collect a crowd at that time? and do cabs go 
caterwauling about in the small hours of the morning ? 

A Mr. Pete remonstrating with a policeman, about the 
impropriety of his interfering with the customary instinctive 
recreations of his valuable dog — said interesting whelp con- 
sidered by its owner to be of more consideration than an 
immortal being in police uniform — whom he kindly offers to 
massacre on the spot, in the event of his protruding his dirty 
nose up the right of way again ; Mr. Reid, who has 
apparently a valuable connection among a particular class, 
gets his client off, to have him on again, in all probability, ere 
long. 

Two foolish women get into disgrace for not exercising 
their inherent mind-power of theological self-conscious 
responsibility. And lastly ; John Thompson brings up the 
rear, but the magistrates getting hungry, leave him a remand 
until the next sederunt of the magisterial bench, 

ANOTHER Arrival of Turtle at Williams's hotel. Soup in its usual 
excellence every day. 

One turtle, fourteen bullocks' heads, plucks, &c, &c, &c, 
every week, and always as good as it was, which is saying a 
great deal, for it is not calculated to improve with age like 
port wine. In case of over eating, and attendant drinking 
that good eating is said to deserve, deranging the digestion 
and damaging the general system, we have here the cele- 
brated sovereign remedy. 

HOLLOWAY'S PILLS is a Remedy for Dyspepsia.— No one who 
has seen the effect- of Holloway's Pills in cases of dyspepsia, can 
believe for a moment that this depressing and dangerous disease is 
incurable. The patient who has suffered from it for years; whose 
strength, appetite, and cheerfulness, seem utterly gone, to whom life is 
a burden, and who has long ceased to hope for relief ; may be radically 
cured by a course of this powerful stomachic and mild aperient. 
Hundreds of instances of this kind are on record. 

Holloway's pills is a remedy ! meaning doubtless that 
each pill contains in itself the virtue of all the rest, and a 
whole box full is only equal to one. But it never occurred 



138 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



to me before, that gamboge and aloes could be both power- 
fully stomachic and mildly aperient at the same time. 
However we seem on the eve of some tremendous medical 
discoveries. It is a great pity that these pills cannot cure 
tongue diseases, such as blasphemy, lies, and mawkish cant. 
These evil spirits are not to be purged out that way, we are 
unceasingly told by priests how these maladies were once 
exorcised, so where are those three men from Manchester? 
Ah ! well, thank you, never mind, we don't want any fiddling 
and too-too-ing just now, we will call for that bye and bye. 

FIVE PER CENT. INTEREST allowed for MONEY Deposited in 
this Office, in Sums of £10 and upwards. Repayable on demand. 

WILLIAM CLARKE & SONS. 

INDIGO CREEK NEW DIGGINGS. — Parties leaving for these 
Diggings can obtain full value for any Articles they have to dispose 
of, or Money Advanced, I. BARNET, 117 a, Swanston-street. 
Observe— One door off Bourke-strect. 

MONEY, Various sums to be advanced immediately. Apply to Mr. 
Atkyns, solicitor, Chancery-lane, 

MONEY TO LEND, in Sums of £10, £15, £20, £25, £30, £35, 
£40, £45, £50, and up to £200, for terms of one, two, three, four, 
and six months, on deposit of deeds only. Borrowers are reminded 
that they are spared all vexatious charges, no charge being made for 
legal documents of any kind and no delay. 

Apply to R. C. LUSCOMBE, 89, Swanston-street, opposite Jordan's 
Rainbow Hotel, moved from Queen's Arcade. 

MONEY.— Two Sums of £500 each, three of £800, and four of 
£1000, at ten per cent. ; two snms of £1800, three of £2000, 
and four of £3500, at nine per cent. ; sums of £4000 up to £10,000, at 
eight per cent. Any of the above sums to be had on mortgage. 

Apply to R. C. LUSCOMBE, 89, Swasnton-street, opposite Jordan's 
Rainbow Hotel. 

Messrs. Clark and Sons have an unsullied reputation as 
honourable men, but the wording of their advertisement is 
slightly equivocal, and an unbiassed stranger might be 
induced to suppose that they were doing a most extraordinary 
business, and wonderfully profitable, if it enabled them to 
take the money over the counter, feel it, and pay it back as 
demanded with five per cent added. 



GREAT TRIBULATION IN THE MONEYED WORLD. 139 

Very good, Mr. Barnet, very good indeed, but who is to 
be the judge of full value? Oh, the eighth commandment 
in the decalogue ! well I am glad to find that all pawn- 
brokers have not forgotten it. 

Mr. Atkyns has got a lawyer behind the scenes who is 
going to sell all that he has, and give to the poor. Well, but 
my good fellow, why don't you say so ? How can we be ex- 
pected to know that ? There is nothing at all to lead us to 
suppose you mean usury or mortgage from the tone of your 
advertisement. 

Any amount of money to lend by Mr. R. C. Luscombe, 
if Mr. R. C. Luscombe can only induce the confiding public 
to lend it to him. Any sum from a paltry ten pound note 
and upwards, increasing in geometrical progression, like the 
nails in the horse shoe example, till the cost of the advertise- 
ment must have staggered him. However the man has got 
up to ten thousand pounds sterling. It is worthy of remark 
that borrowers are "reminded," because an intimation might 
convey to the public the impression that Mr. Luscombe had 
not lent any money before, whereas a reminder necessarily 
carries a man's mind backwards into unlimited space. No 
charge for legal documents of any kind, that is very accom- 
modating, but it would be awkward if it turned out that 
some of these gratuitously provided instruments were only 
so much waste parchment. The great advantage however 
is, that there is no delay, and opposite the Rainbow Hotel 
too ; visions of nobblers rise before the borrower's mental 
eyes, free, gratis, of course. It is really refreshing to know 
that such a large sum of money is going begging, wanting 
to be borrowed. Nearly fifty thousand pounds to lend. 
By five thousand times a larger sum than was owned in 
cash by Jesus Christ and all his Apostles. Christianity ? 
Nonsense, its founder said, " Beware of covetousness, for a 
" man's life does not consist in the abundance of things that 
" he possesses." It is the respectability of piety if you like. 
There was a large sum of money swallowed up in Sodom, 
Gomorrah, Herculaneum, and Pompeii. 

The following remarks from the Rt. Hon. James Wilson's 



140 



PHASES OF CIVILISED LIFE. 



treatise on capital, currency, and banking, may be introduced 
here with considerable effect. He says very truly, 

H Great as have been the advantages which the world 
" has derived from the introduction of a system of money, 
<( in order to facilitate the exchange of commodities, it 
" would not be easy to estimate how much those advantages 
" have been reduced by the confusion which has in conse- 
" quence arisen, as to the true principles which regulate all 
S( such exchanges, and which could not have existed had 
" simple barter been adhered to. The introduction of the 
" systems of credit and money, however admirable in them- 
" selves, and however needful in order to conduct commerce 
" on its present scale, and with due regard to the convenience 
" and necessities of civilized life, has, by withdrawing 
" attention from the fundamental rules on which all exchange 
" of commodities must proceed, done much to complicate 
" and confuse what would otherwise have been simple aud 
" plain. 

" The economy of human labour and time, accomplished 
" by the introduction of those facilities for effecting the 
<f exchange of commodities, is greater than has probably been 
" derived from any other invention whatever ; but strange 
t( to say, the science or principles which regulate these great 
" practices are, as yet, so little understood, that it is difficult 
" to find two practical men of business who entertain the 
" same views on questions of money and currency. And 
" yet there is no science whatever w T hich is based upon more 
" invariable and tangible laws, and which, therefore, should, 
" if proper attention were paid to it, be so exact or so well 
" defined. Much, if not the whole, of the confusion and 
" error which exists, is to be traced to the fact, that men 
" habitually look upon money as an independent element of 
" wealth, and not as a mere representative of commodities, 
" and, therefore, neglect to refer all the fluctuation in the 
" abundance or scarcity of money, to fluctuations in the 
" quantities of commodities, over which bankers and others, 
ct who are supposed to regulate monetary affairs of the 
6C country, have no control whatever. 



RT. HON. J. WILSON ON CURRENCY QUESTIONS. 



141 



"We have before us a pile of letters, received during last 
" week, bearing the marks of proceeding from men with 
" strong powers of thinking, and many of them containing 
" very valuable suggestions, but which exhibit such a variety 
i( of contradictory views, as to the causes of the present 
" crisis, as shew in the strongest way how unsettled and ill 
" defined public opinion is upon a subject so essential to the 
" best interests of the country. 

" In consequence of this want of a clear and well-defined 
" view of the real causes which influences the severe 
" pressures, which from time to time are experienced in 
" the commercial and monetary affairs of the country, it is 
" common to refer them rather to some of the symptoms by 
" which they are immediately accompanied than to the true 
ss causes themselves, and the public are always too apt to try 
" to shift the consequences of their own imprudence, or of 
" misfortune, upon those who are simply the instruments 
" through whom the inconveniences first became felt." 

Yery good indeed, Mr. Wilson. Your idea of the public 
shifting the consequences of their own imprudence and mis- 
fortune upon anybody or anything but themselves is a most 
happy one. For indeed what brings about these commercial 
panics if not overtrading ? Rash, reckless speculation, risk- 
ing one hundred pounds to make five. There is no business 
so bad, no speculation so desperate, but some anxious money 
maker will undertake it. Men who have money to lose are 
cautious, those who trade upon credit or brazen impudence 
are not so particular. They may make a profit. But if 
they lose and are ruined they get white-washed and start 
afresh. It is really as easy as lying, and certainly quite 
as fashionable. Nay, some commercial circles consider 
"busting up" no discredit, however glaring the swindle 
may be. 

Dr. Channing, deploring the style of conducting business 
in that go-a-head and repudiating country America, 
asks his countrymen this question. " Is not more property 
" wrested from its owners by rash and dishonest failures, 
" than by professed higwhaymen and thieves?" 



142 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



The love of money, as the motive power, guiding, stirring, 
leading mankind into all sorts of unprincipled scheming, is 
the root of all evil. It comes to this ere long, that shop or 
office morality deadens the conscience, blears the eyes, and 
stops the ears of the entire community. The rule of 
morality is trimmed and squared down to suit the demand 
for it. It is said most unblushingly, that men in business 
have not to do with truth itself, but truth as generally 
received. This is practically, rank, staring rae-theism, how- 
ever many psalms may be sung, organs ground, or creeds and 
prayers repeated. 

It has been thought possible by many modern politicians, 
that the readiest cure for [the universal social disorganisation 
that every now and then vomits up its lurid lava of in- 
surrection, is to abolish kingly rule and aristocratic govern- 
ment, and substitute democratical institutions concreted into 
republican government for a better and more powerful 
purger of the miseries corroding the life of the vast mass of 
modern civilization. It is gravely stated, as an axiom of 
political economy, that republics have shewn themselves 
freer from corruption than monarchies ; and that more 
especially, the United States of America may safely be 
appealed to in illustration of the blessings attending pure and 
unlimited democratic institutions. It is argued that since 
monarchs are despots, therefore a purely democratic govern- 
ment is the personification of freedom, and that because a 
feudal aristocracy has usurped the functions of an aristocracy 
of a better stamp, therefore the rule of absolute democracies 
is a power better calculated to attain the object sought, 
namely the social happiness and prosperity of individuals; 
and by cementing that individual happiness to form it into 
a national prosperity, founded on the unalterable and eternal 
laws of social science. 

A greater mistake never was made, a more illogical train 
of argument never was attempted; and the best possible 
proof of the falsity of this idea, is to be found in the present 
anomalous condition of that model republic the United States 
of America. Many modern politicians point to this as the 



EVILS OF A DOMINANT PLUTOCRACY. 



143 



model of good government. To this Caesar, so appealed to, 
we consent to go, and shew that of all systems, a greedy 
plutocracy is the vilest of abominations, the worship 
of wealth the most deadly drug. Of all degradations, the 
tyranny of money grubbers affords the worst specimens. It 
turns truth inside out, and perverts the law of nature and 
nature's vital upholder to suit the villany and cupidity of a 
grasping and domineering plutocracy, before whom no com- 
punction stands to oppose, whom no remorse deters, who care 
for no law, no scruple, no whisper of the monitory voice of 
conscience, and who rashly and recklessly break through 
all wise conditions of existence, and brave the scorn and 
contempt of honourable men, in a course of unprincipled 
scrambling for money, by all methods, by all powers of 
chicanery, fraud, or force, to aggrandise themselves, their 
connections, and party, to the loss, and perhaps the total ruin, 
of the unhappy victims that stand within reach of their 
hungry talons. 

An eagle scorns such quarry as these " filibustering 
" vultures" smell out. The history of Ahab, Jezebel, and 
Naboth's vineyard, is lost upon the mental bias of kings and 
presidents. They lust, they must eat, they do touch the for- 
bidden thing, and consequently they must ultimately perish 
by the judgment they have invoked upon themselves.* 

Now listen to the voice of James Buchanan, president of 
the United States of America. Thus he speaks in the 
month of February, in the year of grace 1859 : — 

" Public expenditures have now reached the enormous 
" sum of fifty millions of dollars per annum ; and unless 
" arrested in their advance by the strong arm of the de- 
" mocracy of the country, may, in the course of a few years, 
" reach one hundred millions ! 

" The appropriation of money to accomplish great 
" national objects sanctioned by the constitution, ought to be 
" on a scale commensurate with our power and resources as a 
" nation ; but its expenditure ought to be conducted under the 



* Written in 1859, prior to the disruption of the United State?. 



144 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



" guidance of enlightened economy and strict responsibility. 
<c I am convinced that our expenses ought to be considerably 
" reduced below the present standard, not only without detri- 
" ment, but with positive advantage both to the government 
" and the people. An excessive and lavish expenditure of the 
" public money, though in itself highly pernicious, is nothing 
" when compared with the disastrous influence it may exert 
" upon the character of our free institutions. A strong 
" tendency to extravagance is the great political evil of the 
" present day, and this ought to be firmly resisted. Congress 
" is now incessantly importuned from every quarter to make 
" appropriations for all sorts of projects. Money from the 
" national treasury is constantly demanded, to enrich con- 
" tractors, speculators, and agents, and these projects are gilded 
" over with every allurement which can be imparted to them 
" by ingenuity and talent. Claims which had been con- 
" demned by former decisions, and had become rusty with 
" age, have been again revived, and have been paid principal 
" and interest. Indeed there seems to be one general rush 
" to obtain money from the treasury, on any and every 
" pretence. What will be the immediate consequences of 
" such lavish expenditure ? Is it not calculated to disturb 
t{ the nicely adjusted balance between federal and state go- 
" vernments, upon the preservation of which depend the 
" harmony and efficiency of our system? Greedy expectants 
" from the general treasury will regard with indifference, if 
" not with contempt, the governments of the several states. 
" The doctrine of states' rights will be laughed to scorn by 
" such individuals as an absolute abstraction, unworthy of 
" the enlightened spirit of the age. The corrupting power of 
" money will be felt throughout the length and breadth of 
" the land ; and the democracy, led on by the hero and sage 
" of the hermitage, will have in vain put down the bank of 
" the United States ; if the same fatal influence for which it 
" was condemned shall be exerted and fostered by mean8 
s< drawn from the public treasury. 

" To be liberal with their own money, but sparing of that 
" of the republic, was the glory of the distinguished 



DEMAGOGISM THE BANE OF TRUE LIBERTY. 145 



u public servants among the ancient Romans. When this 
" maxim was reversed, and the public money was employed 
" by artful and ambitious demagogues to secure their own 
" aggrandisement, genuine liberty soon expired. It is true 
" the forms of the republic continued for many years, but 
" the animating and inspiring soul had fled for ever. I 
" entertain no serious apprehensions that we shall ever reach 
" this point, yet we may still profit by the example." 

Such is President Buchanan's warning to a go-a-head, 
dollar-grasping, annexing democracy, whom he cannot control, 
and consequently cannot govern. The republican steam- 
engine has acquired such an impetus from accelerating 
pecuniary forces, that the governor has no longer any hold 
upon the machine, and in fact it is no use. It has become a mere 
ornamental adjunct, steam is generated faster than it 
can be worked or blown off; the safety valves have been 
fastened down, water temporarily cut off from the boiler, 
and all goes whirling round like mad till the whole 
explodes. 

Mr. Buchanan speaks of the strong arm of democracy 
arresting expenditures. What does the man mean ? Is he 
going to call the lower mob to pump cold water on the higher 
mob ? Where is this heaven-inspired democracy that is to 
stem the torrent of increasing extravagance ? The President 
invokes a power he may no more be able to control than the 
parliament he complains of. He says that a strong tendency 
to extravagance is the greatest political evil of the present 
day. Some politicians say the same thing of Great Britain, 
and they appeal to this precious republic as a model form of 
government, to guide statesmen in Britain in their adminis- 
trative proceedings and expenses. Yet Buchanan says the 
American treasury is in a state of siege, by an army of 
grasping contractors, speculators, and agents, all rushing for 
dollars, on any and every pretence. The logical inference 
from his language is, that some of these pretences are 
nothing but roguery. He predicts a political convulsion, and 
says the corrupting power of money will shake the props of 
the commonwealth. Then allusion is made to the past 

L 



146 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



history of the bank of the United States, and warning given 
to remember the unprincipled bribery and organised corrup- 
tion of bygone political and commercial adventurers; and 
after a melancholy whine over departed republican greatness, 
this unhappy president concludes with a desperate attempt to 
convince himself that there is no imminent danger, since 
past examples may warn them in time. 

All this time the annexation of Cuba, Texas, and Canada, 
together with increased slavery, is going on. Quos Deus vult 
perdere prius clementat. 

There are now in this world three codes of morality, or 
motive power, that sustain civilized men in their social 
positions, and uphold law, order, and the price of state 
stocks. 

The first, for kings. 

The second, for all noblemen, or respectable persons 
possessed of landed or real property, valuing long life and 
respectability. 

The third for the lower orders, who have no legal right to 
anything, except what they can get, and up to this hour it is 
precious little that they have been able to get. 

The first is, trust in providence by keeping your powder 
dry. 

The second is, keep your weather eye open, and regulate 
biliary and other secretions; trusting in providence as a 
respectable adjunct. 

The third is, trust in providence by loving your neighbour 
as well as you can. 

Now it is evident that the first two systems have practically 
set aside the dependence upon divine providence altogether, 
although nominally trusting in this power. But the last are 
sufferers from an important alteration in the original law, 
which, without setting aside altogether the necessary trust in 
providence, does materially alter the application of its work- 
ing between man and man ; and the consequences have been, 
are, and will be most disastrous, until this illegal alteration 
has been expunged from civilization's statute book. We 
might ask why the lower orders of society were invented, 



SOCIAL INCUBUS OF CLASS LEGISLATION. 147 



and it appears from perusal of past history, that mainly they 
have been employed to feed the higher orders, and to be 
properly patronized upon payment of certain taxes, and 
the painful conviction is forced upon an impartial man's 
faculty for judgment, that a frightful amount of oppression 
and robbery has to be made good ; though it is impossible to 
make restitution and satisfaction for all the injuries done. 

What a fearfully dark night shrouded this bragging 
Europe, not many hundred years bygone, when kings, 
princes, and rulers, took upon themselves to patronize the 
truth of the most high God; appointing men to use its 
power in upholding their feudal customs, to fiddle, to sing, to 
play sweet music, while their slumbering subjects were 
falling like forests of autumn leaves, silently and swiftly 
into the everlasting tomb of hell, this never satiated Tomb, 
Necropolis the Great! whose inhabitants are blind, and 
dumb, and deaf, he mightiest empire known; where the 
citizens have no knowledge of God, where there is no hand 
to lift up, and no hope. Whosoever enters the everlasting 
gates of this city, hears them closed smoothly and swiftly 
behind him, and the friends that knew him on earth shall 
know him no more. 

The law for the lower classes was originally the same as 
that for the higher castes, for the truth must be spoken that 
it is mainly for the sake of conserving real property and its 
rights, that society is mapped out in this caste system that 
obtains in Europe like orang outang, chimpanzee, and mar- 
motzet monkey, in dumb animals. 

In the scramble for nuts, of course the gorillas and baboons 
got more than their fair share, and in order to maintain their 
status and wealth, prevailed upon their elected rulers to agree 
in the responsibility of altering the law that condemned such 
grasping cupidity, which law was defined to be <tf Love God 
" above all, and your neighbour as well as yourself," for 
it was found by the champions of law and order, that when 
they had compromised truth for the sake of kingly influence 
and protection, they could not square the law in its integrity 
to suit feudal institutions, and since feudal institutions had 

L 2 



148 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



undertaken to be Christianized, to benefit by sacerdotal aid, 
these institutions must in turn be upheld by Christianity, or 
the church system that professed to teach these doctrines. 
Caw me, caw me, was the word, so it was proposed (in 
Britain at least), that a new Education Bill should be brought 
into council, of a star-chamber stamp ; and when the bill was 
in committee of five councillors, (one not quite sober, and 
two more playing with bull dogs, and thinking of their 
assignations for the night), a motion was made to see if any 
opposition could be roused for the pleasure of instantly 
putting it down ; and the alteration then effected, after a 
regular game of hunt-the-dictionary, was to the important 
effect that the word "yourself" was altogether omitted, and 
the words "you can" were inserted in its place. The only 
opposition arose from the boozy nobleman referred to, who 
persisted in dividing upon everything, in obedience to a 
cunning half drunken suspicion that the alteration would 
affect him personally, in the event of his more sober fellow 
legislators turning some mysterious and newly acquired 
authority against him individually. However, after due ex- 
planation, misapprehension, fresh explanation, subsequent 
alterations, and alternate acquiesence and altercation between 
all and every one implicated in making this pretty law, the 
bill was duly passed, engrossed on sheep skin, ticketted, 
signed, sealed, delivered, and registered; dropped by the lord 
chancellor on the way to the king; picked up and 
hypothecated for old parchment in Lombard Street for 
ten shillings; finally recovered, and the finder's ears cut off 
and his nose slit up ; and at last signed by good king Harry, 
who married another wife on the strength of it, and got his 
head fresh rubbed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, to 
whom he presented his divorced wife's portrait; and took 
upon himself the transfer of the title of Defender of the 
Faith from the Pope of Borne for his new establishment, 
which would have made a pie of his toe nails if he had cut 
them off. 

It remains to be shewn what an important alteration in 
the entire spirit of the social law this little amendment of two 



THE REFORMATION A DISGRACEFUL COMPROMISE. 149 

words effected. That is in the "neighbourly" part of it, 
because the first clauses about divine worship were of course 
left untouched; no alteration being required in what was 
admittedly a metaphysical hypothesis, maintained by some, 
but by the majority quietly acquiesced in as a matter of 
course, not worth disputing or any unpleasant earnestness 
about. It was assumed that a scheduled statement of divine 
attributes should be read in churches ; and to give it effect, 
the old practice of sentencing disbelievers to everlasting 
damnation, should be continued as an anthem of praise to 
Almighty God. And it was agreed on all hands, that certain 
taxes should be levied upon all, to support what a vast 
number could not understand the meaning of, and those who 
did, always postponed the application of, to give their deter- 
mination a sort of internal, cumulative, and overpowering 
force, in proportion to the procrastinating husbanding of 
pious resolves. 

The love of God continued as before, to be confined to 
ultimate mixed and concreted abstractions, metaphysical 
certainty of contradictory inconceivables, contingent emo- 
tions and vocalizations, inductive and deductive processes of 
eliminating talk, and there it ended, because being a man's 
own manufacture, it stands to common sense, that if he failed 
to convince himself of the certainty of the one thing needful, 
he has no right to weaken his neighbour's intellect, derange 
his nerves, and disturb his digestive organs, by confessing his 
inability to do what he is principally given life for. His 
business is to array himself in a white choker, and take 
lessons on the flageolet. 

But love to one's neighbour is unfortunately capable of 
mathematical demonstration ; and it does make an important 
difference to others how this point of man's duty is per- 
formed; inasmuch as most people reject as unsatisfactory 
the explanation of duty given above about abstractions and 
inconceivables. They observe sarcastically, that a professor 
of religion is mainly a shuffler and a humbug; and it is 
frightfully true, that since the above-named alteration in the 
Education Bill was effected, it bears out in no small degree, 



150 



* 

PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



the remarks of sceptics of theology, that the profession of 
religion is like water in a bottle, the less there is in it the 
more noise it makes when shaken up. 

The alteration from " yourself" to " you can" affects every 
fibre of society's framework, and threatens a tremendous con- 
vulsion before the original law is restored in its integrity. 

The following observations may be permitted at the pre- 
sent moment, illustrating the change in the administration of 
Equity, Common, and Criminal Law, since the important 
alteration in the original code of legislation just discussed. 
They may prove useful to quiet the misgivings of those who 
are given to indulge in irreverent and sarcastic observations 
about impediments and unnecessary delay, expense, and 
glorious uncertainty in obtaining justice. 

And " imprimis" in respect of taking such legal proceed- 
ings as above noted, it must be born in mind, that Chris- 
tianity practically puts a stop to all litigation, by advising 
people to submit to lose a penny rather than throw away a 
pound in trying to regain it, but in particular in never 
suffering a man to have anything in this world worth the 
bother of going to law to recover, if lost or unjustly taken. 

Nevertheless the opinion of Judge Blackstone on the 
spirit of the following command is very learned. Where it 
has been said, " Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst 
" thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adver- 
u sary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee 
" to the officer, and thou be cast into prison" — Blackstone 
" says in effect. "I maintain that he who enters into 
t( an agreement, or makes himself a party in any collusive 
c * operation, or comes to an understanding, or signs 
" any deed, memorandum, or other document, for the pur- 
" pose of avoiding, as by mutual consent with another or 
" others, proceedings in any of the High Courts of Chancery 
" or Common Law, commits an illegal and most unconsti- 
" tutional act, because he does by that agreement (de 
"facto ) declare that justice is not to be obtained from the 
"judges presiding in those courts. And inasmuch as he 
" consents to avoid the constitutional remedies provided for 



STATUTE LAW OF BRITAIN NOT CHRISTIANITY. 151 

" the redress of all grievances, losses, damages, injuries, 
" provocations, and insults, both real and imaginary, he 
" practically brings the administration of the law into con- 
<( tempt, and sets a dangerous example to all other members 
" of the commonwealth." 

The proper estimate of the wisdom of the above great 
Doctor of Laws, has been given in the following verses by 
that inimitable satirist, the late Mr, Thomas Hood. He 
says, in his Comic Almanack for 1838 : — 

Judge Blackstone was a learned judge. 

As wise as ever sat ; 
He wore his head within his wig, 

His wig within his hat. 

Judge Blackstone made a learned book 

On subjects, and on kings, 
And many reasons sage he gave 

For many foolish things. 

And many a wily way he found 

For lawyers to get fat in, 
And common sense, and English sound, 

He smother' d in dog-latin, — 

And simple ways made strange to see, 

As clients, to their loss, tell ; 
And many things that law may be, 

Altho' they be not gospel. 

But since (see Job) we are but worms 

Our destiny we fill, 
No doubt, in being gobbled up 

By some long lawyer's bill. 

Further, in respect of those in trouble from the inconveni- 
ences attending imprisonment for debt, it may be told 
them for their consolation, that as they have got them by 
their own act, they must employ their forced leisure in 
learning the duties of patience, calmness, fortitude, and reso- 
lution for better conduct. But, as many contemplate a 
process called " whitewashing" for cutting the knot of diffi- 
culty, they must be cautioned, that they are not to be 
considered Christians or behaving as such, inasmuch as they 
are not supposed to be obliged to borrow with the doctrine 



152 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



of " intention," and that intention a mental process unknown 
to the lender, and which he would strongly object to if known, 
much less can they be allowed the name if they persist in 
obtaining valuables, or considerations that are valuable, upon 
such purely hypothetical conditions as the supposed metallic 
property of manufactured papyrus. 

We remarked a page or two back, that an alteration, 
small in respect of words but tremendous in its effect, was 
achieving in the original law of love to one's neighbour, by 
the connivance of the teachers of truth with feudal institu- 
tions ; in other words these teachers clung to the system of 
publicly prominent forms that obliged them to lean upon 
state support, and they only obtained that support by 
amalgamating truth with public morality or motivity, and 
commenced a process of adaptation that has resulted in 
smothering the vitality of the church itself, as the following 
painting not yet hung will show. 

A dilapidated giant of enormous stature, in seedy parti- 
coloured garments, a vast deal too large in the arms and legs, 
and only well filled out about the belly, small mitred head, 
carried high in air, collar round neck, with royal arms of 
Britain attached ; and with very small shrunken feet, called 
lower orders, totters as fast as it can scuffle along from two 
men and a lad pursuing. The first, a dirty, uncombed, 
unwashed man, with only a sheet thrown over him daubed 
over with hieroglyphics and smears of ink, carrying his box 
under his arm, shouts continually for the lad to follow, call- 
ing him his <s devil." His companion is a man stark naked, 
who carries a keg with him ; both appear very solicitous to 
come up to the giant, they say their object is to knock 
him off his legs, and they don't care to aim at his collar, or 
head. The legs are naturally indignant at being thus openly 
aimed at. and move off as fast as they can, to the great dis- 
gust of the arms, who pray and beseech the giant to move 
his legs in the order of return to some position from which 
they have wandered ; but the head declines to give the word 
and only that these querulous arms have fastened the clothes 
so tight about the wrists, and hampered their action with 



HIEROGLYPHIC FOR ZADKIEL's NEXT ALMANAC. 153 



rings, fall-lalls, and trumpery of all sorts, they possibly 
might have succeeded in knocking the head off for tempor- 
izing in this fashion ; but what can the poor head do ? It 
has no control over the other members of the body, and as 
for the belly, it wakes up now and then to demand what all 
the noise is about, and with this, and objecting to receive 
too much low diet, it seems to be asleep. 

An entire change is needed for the giant's crazy constitu- 
tion, the size of the belly is out of all proportion to the rest 
of the body, and this, and the attenuated voice and absurd 
gestures of his every attempt at speaking, are mainly the 
causes that serve to irritate the dirty fellow in his sheet, and 
the man in buff. They are not indisposed to negotiate 
terms of peace, for truth to say they don't progress any 
easier or faster than their antipathy, for the man in his sheet 
has to get clean sheets, once in a way to rearrange his types, 
and stop to have a drink with casky, who always applies his 
mouth to the bung, smokes incessantly, and getting help- 
lessly drunk rolls over his keg, which sometimes turns round 
and gets away from him, and then as it must be replenished, 
further delay arises ; between these two pot companions and 
their devil, there is sustained a conversation, mainly composed 
of blasphemy and positively vulgar indecency, but not 
unmixed with too much truth for the giant's comfort, about 
his vulnerable, and weak points. It might be possible to 
appease these coarse spoken fellows, but unluckily the 
greatest cause for alarm is hidden behind a corner towards 
which the giant is fast hastening. This danger arises from 
an old, miserable, half famished looking fellow, who grasps a 
huge club, which he calls a specific for actual starvation, and 
threatens in no ambiguous phraseology to hit the giant in 
the belly, whenever he gets his chance. Did the giant know 
his danger, he would reduce the size of his belly, and in- 
crease the circulation in his lower limbs, especially his feet, 
which are not big enough nor strong enough to support 
him ; and above all he needs vitality, for a more miserable 
effete compound, neither hot nor cold, neither high nor low, 
neither bad nor good, you shall nowhere else see. 



154 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



When the crash comes, you will see this British State 
Church the first to go down, and if you ask " Why ?" — I say 
look at the insuperable flunkeyism, and thinly veiled blas- 
phemy, staring every one in the face when he opens his 
Bible and looks at the first page. Even supposing royalty 
had patronized the printing and translating into English the 
Holy Scriptures, there was no decent excuse for the men he 
countenanced, going the length they did in deifying royalty, 
and prostituting the truth to the fulsome flattery of kings 
and queens who took to religion, as most people do, because 
it was something new, something to add to their dignity, 
something to do credit to those who chaperoned it. 

To judge of the pernicious effects not unlikely (nay sure) 
to be produced in a distant land by the accidental circula- 
tion or direct importation of one of these royally authenticated 
Bibles, let us imagine a Chinese professor, So-Keen, of 
inquiring mind, in possession of one of these copies, and a 
Prayer-book, (to refer to in case of doubt) recently a Buddhist, 
then a disciple of the Laotseans, finally at sea altogether, 
prepared to learn anything, but still biassed in favour of 
Buddhist doctrines. " He opens the Bible at Genesis?" O 
no, the Chinese read from beginning to end, so he com- 
mences at the very first page, and is pleased to find an illus- 
tration there. It is the royal coat of arms. The professor 
of course rummages the Prayer Book, and finds the same 
thing there; having digested the Catechism as usual, he 
returns again to the il ustrated page in the Bible, and con- 
cludes that this coat of arms is a representation of the 
Trinity. He takes two entire days and nights to master 
the scheme of it, for he of course connects the mottoes with 
the figures, as thus, Dieu is the lion, et mon } the crown, 
shield, &c, and Droit, the unicorn. It all falls in at last 
beautifully dovetailed, " Evil be to him who evil thinks" is 
the key stone of the whole. He is in raptures at the appro- 
priateness. He has discovered the fountain of original sin ! 
and loses an entire week in metaphysical speculations about 
harps, and women, lions, and all the rest of it. 

See this, the poor man's salvation is perilled, he gets a 



KING JAMES THE FIRST AND HIS TOADIES. 155 



wooden model made of the thing, has it gilt, and hung up in his 
house. He lights his candles, strews his flowers, burns his 
incense, kotous and chin-chins this thing as he used to do 
his pot-bellied Fo. 

So the inquiring professor continues his search. Passing 
by the form of license, a copy of which is taken as a sort of 
Agnus Dei or charm, to be worn amulet fashion, as a specific 
against such contageous diseases as cholera morbus, and such 
cutaneous complaints as the itch, so fashionable in China; 
and he arrives at further distressing perplexities, which can 
only be explained by taking them in connection with the 
royal arms before mentioned. He finds these words : — 

TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE 
JAMES, 

BY THE GRACE OF GOD, 

KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND IRELAND, 

DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, &C, 

The Translators of the Bible wish Grace, Mercy, Peace, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

The Chinese Doctor of Laws is not aware of what we 
know, that the mighty prince sails here under false colours ; 
King of France and Defender of the Faith indeed ! It would 
be well to resign these titles before they are forcibly torn 
away. Professor reads on : — 

"Great and manifold were the blessings, most dread 
(( Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, 
" bestowed upon us, the people of England, when first he sent 
" your Majesty's Royal Person to rule and reign over us. For 
u whereas it was expectation of many, who wished not well 
" for our Sion" (professor gets bewildered) "that upon the 
" setting of that bright Occidental star, Queen Elizabeth of 
" most happy memory," — 

So-Keen breaks off here to give his mind time to appre- 
ciate the tremendous discovery that here flashes into it. It 



156 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



is too plain. The man just recovering from idolatry- 
relapses altogether, and rushing to the op n window, salaams, 
kotous, or chin-chins the planet Venus just then setting, 
and calls that star Queen Elizabeth ever afterwards. What 
a happy hit, and you see quite accidental, this comes of 
learning folk's names in these flunkey dedications. The poor 
Queen, however, gets worshipped in her favourite capacity 
at last. This is not all ; a little further on he finds King 
James likened to the " sun " in its strength, so first thing 
next morning what does So-Keen do, but chin-chin the 
sun as he was once accustomed to do, only it has been 
invested with a new name, but for the matter of that it 
cannot concern us what title is given, the spirit is looked at 
through the ordinance or other thing, all the wrong way 
round, so we shall ever go on if we retain old church clothes 
instead of wearing new garments. What is idolatry but the 
presentation to the sight or mental perception of some figure 
on wood, stone, or paper, to assist men in their talk worship, 
or devotions as they are called : time elapses and gradually 
the man sees less and less through the object, or ordinance, 
or sacerdotalism, and he becomes owl blind, bat blind, mole 
blind, and he wants to finger his deity, so that in some nation 
less civilized than Europeans, a man gets a stout, service- 
able, washable, monstrosity made, and keeps it in some 
cupboard or recess ; and in case it refuses to work miracles, 
for all idolaters demand miracles, signs, &c, he takes his god 
out, and gives it a good hammering, and after a little fresh 
paint, and a new tooth or so, it goes to its drawer again, to 
be once more hauled out when another miracle is wanted, 
failing which, it gets another fustigation, and perhaps in the 
owner's blind rage its nose is bitten off, and its divine 
features are otherwise dentally marked, and it would be a good 
job for its exasperated and disappointed patroniser, if it were 
thrust into the oven fire by mistake. All idolatry has 
small beginnings, and it would be unpardonable to let such a 
Bible as I have just exhibited fall into the hands of an 
enquiring and intelligent Chinese professor. 

Why, if the sychophantic pedants that penned the insuffer- 



gee at Britain's obligation to the stuarts. 157 



ably canting rhapsody had wished to pervert and disturb the 
not over nicely adjusted balance of the king's mind, they 
could not have presented hirn with a better instrument to 
exalt his pride, and fan the fire of his more than feminine 
vanity. Listen to this. 

" Then not to suffer this to fall to the ground, but rather 
" to take it up, and continue it in that state, wherein the 
{( famous Predecessor of Your Highness did leave it ; nay, to 
i{ go forward with the confidence and resolution of a Man in 
" maintaining the truth of Christ, and propagating it far and 
" near, is that which hath so bound and firmly knit the 
" hearts of all Your Majesty's loyal and religious people 
" unto You, that Your very name is precious among them as 
" that sanctified Person, who, under God, is the immediate 
" Author of their true happiness." 

Just fancy the effect of this flunkeyism upon the mind of 
the vain pedant. 

" Steeny, man ! yon language is just gran', it maist makes 
" one's fleesh cruntle to hearken to. Gaed sicken a whauger 
" to that man o' sin, Satan, as wunna be healit. Steeny ! 
" dinna flash your bit dagger about i' that fashion, my Lord 
" Archbeesop's no fond o' caud steel. Domene derege 
" nos." 

Sanctified person under God, a man whose habits were 
disgusting, and very questionable in their moral bearing, a 
coward in mind and body, and a weak son of such a mother ; 
and then the Martyr and his self-willed fry, the graceless 
pleasure-loving Kings Charles and James, eaten up with a 
corroding selfish egotism, all men of narrow bigoted mind, 
shuffling, trimming, and procrastinating ; and these are the 
tribe of him whose name figures after " Yenus " in the 
written revelations of the most high and mighty God ! 

By the way, there is a curious document that by good 
rights ought to have been prefixed to the Royal Bible and 
Prayer Book of King James, but it would appear that 
owing to gross carelessness, or even worse dereliction of 
duty on the part of some flunkey state servant, either lay or 
clerical, the draft prepared for printing and circulation found 



158 



PHASES OF CIVILIZED LIFE. 



its way into the royal larder instead of the publisher's hands ; 
hence its omission from the books in question. The style of 
this missing proclamation was to the following effect. 

We James, By the grace of God, King of Great Britain, 
France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, have, from the 
hands of our right Reverend and well beloved Archbishop 
of Canterbury, Primate of all England, received a fair proof 
copy of our newly printed work the holy scriptures, and 
having, with the valued advice and assistance of our most 
honourable and very learned Privy Councillor, the Duke of 
Buckingham, perused the same with painstaking diligence at 
our royal leisure, we are very graciously pleased herewith to 
signify our warmest approbation of the truly sublime senti- 
ments therein expressed, and we have notified the fact to 
our said beloved brother the Archbishop, that it is our 
gracious pleasure to accept the benefit of salvation for our 
Royal person, and we do further signify hereby our sovereign 
desire publicly to receive the benefits of the atonement con- 
veyed in the most holy Eucharist of Christ's body and blood 
the first Sunday in every month. 

And we do furthur, by these presents, give public notice, 
that it is our Royal will and pleasure to extend the knowledge 
of the glorious truths contained in the canon of these sacred 
scriptures, by placing them under our most gracious patron- 
age. Therefore it has been duly notified to our Lords Com- 
missioners of the Royal star chamber, and Privy Council 
that we desire them to urge our faithful and dutiful subjects, 
by all constitutional means, to receive with becoming 
reverence the Sacraments of our holy church from this time 
forwards, and this to be enforced under such pains and 
penalties as our Lords Commissioners may warrant the inflic- 
tion of, on those self-conceited, vain, and disloyal men who 
persist in their self-willed resistance of our most gracious 
and loving consideration for their spiritual and temporal 
welfare. 

To this would be attached the signatures of the King and 
his Chancellor's seal, together with the Duke of Bucking- 
ham's distinguished mark, followed up with a mildly worded 



ROYAL PATRONAGE OP CHRISTIANITY. 159 



sanguinary threat from the commissioners levelled at puritan 
obj ections. 

With respect to the title of "Defender of the Faith," 
adopted by Christian monarchs, it is a curious fact that 
deserves to be more widely circulated, and its significance better 
appreciated than is just now the case, that it is the second in 
the list of sixteen titles that appertained to the Grand 
Llama in Thibet some few centuries prior to the establish- 
ment of Christianity. 

The great seal of the Dhurma Rajah, or Sovereign Pontiff 
of Bhotan, chief priest of the entire sect of the Dookpa or 
scarlet mitred and clothed Buddhists, was translated for Dr. 
Campbell, in 1849, by one Aden Tcheba Llama.* The fol- 
lowing is the substance of that erudite pundit's interpreta- 
tion of the Grand Llama's titles, as impressed upon his great 
seal of state : — 

No. 1. I am Spiritual and Temporal chief of the Realm. 



2. 


» 


Defender of the Faith. 


3. 


SS 


Equal to Suras wati in learning. 


4. 


H 


Chief of all the Boodhs. 


5. 


li 


Head Expounder of the Shastras. 


6. 


ii 


Caster out of Devils. 


7. 


SS 


The most learned in the holy laws. 


8. 


SS 


An Avater of God. 


9. 


SS 


Absolver of Sins. 


10. 


SS 


Above all the Llamas of the Dookpa Creed. 


11. 


SS 


The best of all Religions, the Dookpa. 


12. 


a 


The Punisher of Unbelievers. 


13. 


Si 


Unequalled in Expounding the Shasters. 


14. 


ss 


Unequalled in Holiness and Wisdom. 


15. 


S3 


The Head and Fountain of all Religion 






Knowledge. 


16. 


SS 


The Enemy of all False Avaters. 



* Vide, Dr. J. D. Hooker's "Journal of Himalayan Travels" 



160 



CHAPTER VII. 

FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 

" By their works ye shall know them/' said Jesus of 
Nazareth ; men do not gather good fruit of thorns and briars, 
and, on the other hand, if the fruit presented to us be uneat- 
able rubbish, we may fairly condemn the tree that produced 
it as being bad. 

I purpose inspecting the Church system in its archi- 
tectural works. 

Mr. Pugin says very truly 

" It will readily be admitted, that the great test of 
" architectural beauty is the fitness of the design to the 
" purpose for which it is intended, and that the style of a 
" building should correspond with its use, that the spectator 
" may at once perceive the purpose for which it was 
" erected." 

Again : — 

" There can be but little doubt, that the religious ideas 
" and ceremonies of different people, had by far the greatest 
" influence on the formation of their various styles of archi- 
" tecture. The more closely we compare the temples of the 
" Pagan nations with their religious rites and mythologies, 
i( the more shall we be satisfied with the truth of this 
" assertion." 

Very good, Sir Pugin, what must we think when we find 
the very same symbols of the Deity in Christian churches, 
in the shape of molten and graven images, that obtained in 
heathen temples ? 



ECCLESIASTICAL ORNAMENTATION. 



161 



The incarnation of Deity in humanity has been attended, 
in Eastern and copying systems, with the performance of 
certain mysterious rites that beggar all description. The 
scenes, the abominations, the symbols of worship, attending 
the inculcation of certain peculiar doctrines of incarnation 
and purifying atonement, are impossible to describe ; but it 
is astounding when we find the form of animals and human 
members, symbolizing the passions and lust of the animal 
men of this earth, figuring in European churches, as they do 
in Oriental and Egyptian places of worship. It is even 
more wonderful to find Mr, Pugin, and other rational men 
calling themselves Christians, defending the appropriateness 
of these beastly exhibitions in a place consecrated to the 
worship of that power of holiness whom no man hath seen 
at any time, and who dwells in a light of immortality to 
which no mere man can approach and live. 

It is admitted on all hands, that some reformation in the 
European church system was necessary when Luther raised 
his lion's roar against the glaring corruptions of the rotting 
temple ; but we must not be hood-winked by partial admis- 
sions. The whole truth must come out, namely, that the 
entire Church was a festering corpse, poisoning the air, and 
better buried out of sight. 

Mr. Pugin contends that Christian architects were men of 
original ideas, thus : — 

" They borrowed their ideas from no heathen rites, nor 
" sought for decorations from the idolatrous emblems of a 
" strange people. The foundation and progress of the 
" Christian faith, and the sacraments and ceremonies of the 
" Church, formed an ample and noble field for the exercise 
" of their talents." 

This is rather dogmatic in tone, and like all dogmatic 
assertions seems based upon intuitive conviction. However 
we shall see this writer eat his own words very soon. He 
does not like the Bible apparently, for he remarks : — 

" The promiscuous use of the Holy Scriptures, and 
" various heretical works imported from Germany, had pro- 

M 



162 



FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 



" duced feelings of irreverence for the clergy, and contempt 
" of religion." 

That is, for the peculiar performances we are about to 
investigate, because it is not generally supposed that the 
Bible produces contempt for all religion. It operates to 
change ideas as to what is meant by religion, or worship. 
But Mr. Pugin's idea is rather oddly expressed. It might 
convey the notion that the Holy Scriptures were the pecu- 
liar manufacture of Germany, which, together with various 
heretical works of the same stamp, were exported and sent 
to Christian lands, or imported as a moral speculation by 
certain impious folks. 

Mr. Pugin commences with an index, or inventory of 
ecclesiastical symbolism, as follows: — 

Classification of Ecclesiastical Ornaments. 

Artificial. Chalices, crosiers, crowns, crosses, mitres, staves, scriptures, 

swords, vestments, instruments of torture, (and sundry minor 

gimcracks too numerous to detail here.) 
Celestial. Angels, cherubim, seraphim, sun, moon, stars, patriarchs, 

powers, thrones, virtues, rainbows. 
Geometrical. Triangle, circle, crosses, square, heptagon, hexagon. 
Grotesque. Figures of disproportionate monsters, half men, half beasts, 

fools. 

Terrestrial. Beasts, apes, foxes, goats, ox, ram, pigs, bat, birds, human 
members, and vegetables. 

Now it must strike an unprejudiced mind, that the above 
form a very " queer" assortment of emblems. The like of 
these, if found (as they may be found) in Roman, Pagan, and 
Egyptian temples, would warrant the assertion, that they 
were incontrovertible evidence of gross and monstrous 
superstition and idolatry of the very lowest stamp of wor- 
shippers. 

But we continue our search. 

Agnus Dei. Are blessed with especial reference to protection from 
certain dangers, the benefits to be derived from their possession 
depending of course on the disposition and intention of the 
receiver being in accordance with the intention and spirit of the 
Church. 



EVIDENCE OF FETICHISM IN EUKOPEAN THEISM 



163 



What is all this but downright fetichism ? 

Albe. Priest's robe, this is the origin of all surplices. 
Altar. Formerly under a canopy, with curtains before them, occasion- 
ally drawn during the celebration of divine mysteries. 
Angels, Of these there are nine degrees, with a chief of each degree. 

[Note.] The Rabbins limited angels to the select number of eighteen 
thousand; and it was once gravely debated whether angels, in journeying from one 
part of heaven to another, were not emancipated from those conditions that made 
locomotive powers and faculties necessary ; in other words, whether they were 
not at both points of departure and arrival at one and the same instant of time ! 

Ape. Introduced as a symbol of lust! generally found in the 
subsellse of stalls, placed under a seat, as a mark of degradation and 
contempt. 

This is a pleasing symbol indeed. It was a great favourite 
in Egypt. Under what circumstances did it pass into Syria 
and cross the Bosphorus ? 

Banner. Token of victory. 

Bats. Found under the stalls. 

Beams. Rays of glory depicted round saints. 

[Note.] The very same coronal signification was used, ages before its 
introduction into European churches, in Buddhist temples, round the polled and 
shaven heads of their canonized saints. 

Beasts. Introduced in Christian ornament to typify virtues and vices, 

according to the nature of the animal they represent, namely: 
Boar. Emblem of sensuality and ferocity. 
Cock. „ vigilance and watchfulness. 

Dog. „ fidelity, generally introduced at the feet of married 

women, 

Dolphin. „ love and social feeling. 

Dove. „ the Holy Ghost. 

Dragon. „ pestilence. 

Sun, Moon, Stars. Emblem of the Virgin Mary. 

[Note.] Who appears to have possessed a larger allowance of these 
emblems, together with flowers, "vegetables, and kickshaws of all sorts, than all 
the rest of the saints taken collectively. The Evangelists have only one symbol 
each, viz., an angel for Matthew, a lion for Mark, a calf for Luke, and an eagle 
for John. 



The fish of course is understood to be fresh, Mr. Pugin 

M 2 



164 



FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 



confesses to the existence of some analogy between Pagan 
and Christian ornament, thus : — 

" Fishes are often found dedicated on the tombs of the 
" Roman catacombs, but these must not be always con- 
Ci sidered as religious emblems." (!) 

Flowers. Emblem of joy and festivity. 

Initials. Emblem of the passion, and the name of Christ, the Virgin 
Mary. 

Fools. Representations of men in various postures in a grotesque 
dress, with a fool's cap and bells, frequently occur in the ancient 
churches, especially under the seats of the choir stalls. The intro- 
duction of these, and other ludicrous or even indecent images (!) in 
the buildings dedicated to the solemn worship of God, has long 
been a subject of inquiry among the learned, and of surprise and 
scandal to the generality of persons. It seems, therefore, most 
important to explain their real origin, and intention, lest the 
blemishes of a fine period of art may be ignorantly reproduced 
with the revival of its excellence. The source of many of these 
representations may be traced to 2 m fl an orgies of saturnalia and 
supercalia, which even at the close of the fifth century were cele- 
brated with all the debauchery and extravagance that charac- 
terized their observance, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of 
Pope Gelasius to abolish them. No sooner had the Church at 
length succeeded in suppressing their extravagances under their 
original denominations, than the same indecent buffoonery was 
introduced on some of the great Christian festivals, and distin- 
guished during the middle ages by the names Festa Fatuorum, 
Festa Asinorum, and Festa Kalendarum. On these occasions men, 
and eventually ecclesiastics, disfigured themselves in hideous 
masks representing heads of stags, oxen, and other animals, and 
monsters, whose cries and bellowings they imitated in the very 
choirs of the churches, with outrageous postures and gestulations. 
These abominations, carried on in some of the most glorious 
temples of Christendom, and in which the sacred mysteries them- 
selves were parodied and profaned, were not only loudly de- 
nounced and deplored by the devout and learned ecclesiastics, but 
for many centuries they were the subject of decrees and censures 
fulminated by bishops, synods, and councils, nor were they finally 
abolished till the commencement of the sixteenth century. It will 
readily be seen from this statement, that many of these monsters 
and ludicrous representations that are found in our great churches, 
are derived from a most objectionable source, a pagan custom (hear, 
hear !) revived amongst Christians, and only amongst Christians, 



LUDICROUS AND INDECENT IMAGES IN CHURCHES. 165 



through a licentious and disobedient spirit. It is necessary, how- 
ever, to draw great distinction between these burlesque figures which 
I have been describing, and symbolical representations of the vices 
and virtues, which are often introduced under the guise of animals, 
whose nature corresponds to the passion, or virtue represented. 
Hence human beings may be depicted with the heads of beasts 
and birds, such as foxes, lions, hawks, &c, to denote cunning, 
courage, and rapacity. 

The same emblems obtained for ages, amongst the Egyptian 
systems of worship. Mr. Pugin allows that some of these 
monsters are derived from a pagan source, but he hesitates 
to admit the whole extent of the mischief, and he white- 
washes the outside of the sepulchre thus : — 

cf Representations of monsters may be introduced in 
" churches with great propriety, as emblems of the enormity 
" of sin, subdued by the power of the Church. The fore- 
" going remarks on the feast of fools, refer only to the 
ee ludicrous, indecent, and degrading representations that are 
" found in ancient churches, and are not in any way to be 
" understood as applicable to those I have just described. 

ei In the liturgical reforms, which were effected in the 
et sixteenth century, we cannot but discern the divine power 
" continually with the Holy Roman Church, that enables 
" her, after the lapse of centuries, to prune the branches she 
" had originally put forth. Nor can we sufficiently deplore 
" the unhappy schism that severed England from the mother 
" trunk, and allowed the hatchets of fanatics to lop off the 
" fairest foliage, when had the faded twigs been removed by 
se the parent hand she might have flourished more glorious 
fe than ever." 

If these remarks had emanated from a bedlamite we might 
laugh at them. If they had come from the Encyclopaedist, 
such as Diderot, they would be stigmatized as lies and the 
garbage of sanguinary atheism. But let the Church de- 
fenders alone, and then see how they are compelled to con- 
fess the miserable perversion of healthy sentiment. Observe 
the miserable whine about the divine power leaving fanatics 
in England to do what he might have done so much 
pleasanter and more artistically himself, for his dear Roman 



166 



FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 



spousy, if he had but kept awake and looked a little sharper 
after her, instead of leaving these fanatics to crop her head, 
taking ears and nose off altogether with their blundering 
shears. 

Bees. Bees were regarded by the Egyptians as an emblem of regal 
power, and it is probable that the same significance was attributed 
to them in the middle ages. 

This is another admission of the curious analogy between 
pagan and orthodox religion. 

Blue. Signifies piety, and sincerity. 

Green. „ felicity, and prosperity for ever. 

Bed. „ the passion of Jesus. 

Wlate. „ innocence and piety. 

Foxes. Emblems of cunning and deceit. 

Fruit. „ God's bounty. 

Garlands. ,, purity ( white roses,) and grace by red roses. 

Goat. „ lust. 

Hand. ,, the Eternal Father. 

Hen and Chickens. Emblem of God's providence. 

Hexagon. Six sided emblem of God's attributes. 

Horse. Emblem of war. 

Beautifully appropriate this emblem of war, for what is 
supposed to be productive of peace on earth ? 

Images. Images form a most important part of ecclesiastical decora- 
tions. No sooner had the doctrines of the cross triumphed over 
pagan error, and the danger of idolatry been removed by the over- 
throw and destruction of the idols themselves, than the Church 
permitted the glorious art of sculpture, hitherto dedicated to the 
illustration of error, to be exercised in honour of the true God and 
his blessed saints, and to contribute to the piety and devotion of 
the faithful, by setting forth the most sacred representations for 
their contemplation and instruction. The great aim of these pro- 
ductions was evidently to set forth the mysteries of the faith in a 
manner best calculated to awaken the reverence and devotion of 
the people. 

Sandars unfolds in his first book, " De Honoraria Imagium 
" Adoratione, chap. 8, these ten advantages of the use of 
« sacred images as profitable. 1st, for instruction ; 2nd, for 



SIMILARITY IN PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN EMBLEMS. 167 



" remembrance ; 3rd, as a confession of faith ; 4th, as an 
" expression of love ; 5th, for imitation ; 6th, for invocation 
" of the saints; 7th, for the honour of God; (what God?) 
" 8th, to confute and repress heresy ; (how ?) 9th, to excite 
M (exasperate ?) devotion in the faithful ; 10th, to bring before 
" us the glories of the heavenly kingdom." 

From a long list of emblems, I select the following 
samples. 

Lamb. Emblem of Jesus Christ. 



Lion. „ dominion and strength. 

Octagon. „ regeneration. 

Owl. „ darkness and solitude. 

Ox. „ the priesthood. 

Peacock. „ the resurrection ; occurs in the Roman catacombs, 



with the same significance. 

A remarkable coincidence, but according to the Mr. Pugin 
theory, quite accidental. 

Pelican. Emblem of Jesus Christ shedding his blood, 
Reptiles, „ sin, and evil spirits. 

Sheep. „ the faithful. 

Triangle. „ the Holy Trinity. 

Another extraordinary coincidence, that Boodh has this 
identical emblem of his trinity in unity in his temples, with 
flowers, candles, fallals, and other trumpery upon the altar 
in the temples. 

Mr. Pugin remarks : — 

Next to the cross, this is the most important form in Christian 
design. In the manuscript of Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, a.d. 908, the three persons are figured under the 
human form, and in the 12th century the equality of persons is 
signified by the perfect identity of form observed in the three. In 
opposition to this anthropomorphism (as it were) of art, others 
symbolized the trinity under geometrical figures, on the principle 
of the triangle, which was as abstract as the others were mate- 
rialized and concrete in the idea. In the third period, or from the 
12th to the 15th century, some of these approached in doctrinal 
significance to the Athanasian symbol, such as a figure composed 
of three circles, with inscriptions. 



168 



FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 



Cardinal Bellnrmine says, " It is not so certain that images of 
God, or of the Trinity, are to be made in the church, as it is that 
those of Christ, and the saints, are to be made; for the latter all 
Catholics confess, and it is of faith, the former is a matter of 
opinion only." 

Thomas Waldensis and Nicholas Sandars, advocate the use of 
such images as consonant to the description of the Holy Scriptures 
themselves. 

It is not easy to understand how Messrs. Waldensis, 
Sandars, & Co., can reconcile their advocacy of image wor- 
ship with biblical commands to the very contrary of what 
they say is recommended therein. From the 27th of 
Deuteronomy, we learn that Moses, speaking by command of 
the .angel of God, expressly curses all image makers, 
thus : — 

" Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten 
" image, an abomination unto the Lord." 

And again, in the 4th chapter, we learn that the Israelites 
were expressly commanded not to make any graven image, 
or any similitude, or likeness of man, woman, beast, bird, 
fish, or creeping thing, nor even of sun, moon, and stars. 
Yet we find every one of these abominations in Christian 
architecture, and Mr. Pugin wishes his readers to under- 
stand, that they are products of divine inspiration, and not 
copies from Oriental and pagan institutions. He shows 
among other emblems, the wheel, as symbolizing life, and 
confesses, that the idea of representing the vicissitudes of 
life under the form of a wheel, is common to heathen 
mythology and Christianity. He has also confessed that 
monstrous and ludicrous representations found in the great 
churches of Christendom, are derived from pagan and objec- 
tionable sources. In truth, the picture drawn by Mr. Pugin 
himself of ancient Christianity, while endeavouring to ex- 
tenuate the scandalous scenes of the Festa Fatuorum, and 
other obscene tomfooleries, is past all criticism. It would 
be as reasonable to expect a man to perform a post mortem 
examination by dissecting the bloated and festering carcase 
of a dead dog. The thing speaks, or rather stinks for itself, 



MR. PUGIN'S DEFENCE OF IMAGE WORSHIP. 169 



and so it must be left for the enjoyment of the beetles, ants, 
and maggots that thrive upon such choice morsels. 

If the brute creation are proper emblems of mental attri- 
butes, why cannot men perceive, by this very witness of 
their own subpoenaing, that they themselves are only a superior 
mode of existence after all. 

Mr. Pugin's remark, that the triangle as an emblem of 
the Holy Trinity, is next of importance to the cross in 
Christian design, deserves some notice. Bellarmine's opinion 
is quoted in favour of erecting images of Christ and the 
saints, but he is made to say, that the doctrine of the trinity 
is only a matter of opinion, and not of faith. This sounds 
somewhat strange from the mouth of one usually accounted 
a redoubtable champion of orthodox theology. 

With respect to this geometrical formula of three persons 
in one, and all other triangular or trigonometrical emblems, 
approaching the significance of the Athanasian symbol, 
alluded to by Mr. Pugin as fashionable from the 12th to 
the 15th centuries, it is only necessary to say, that one 
similitude is as bad as another, and all are equally well 
calculated to lead men's minds astray. 

There is no warrant from the Bible for any of these 
expositionary emblems. If any trinity is implied in the 
revelation of God to man, it can only be in relation of 
humanity to God that such three-fold relationship applies. 
For instance, in the case of Jesus Christ, the revelation of 
the eternal and invisible by him, was constituted a three-fold 
relationship only during the period that he was subject to 
the conditions of humanity, or mortality, but after his 
emancipation by death and resurrection, the trinity was 
merged into a duality, which is a higher existence. As 
there is no revelation of the Eternal save in the personality 
of the Son, there must be a duality of relationship in all cases 
of such divine revelation, but it can only bear the lower 
relation of a trinity when a third relation to God is tempo- 
rarily constituted, in the case of the man elevated into 
knowledge of God. A trinity of relation has been partly 
traced throughout the entire order of nature, but this cannot 



170 



FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 



be said to apply to the omnipresent and absolute power of 
one true God. Of course looking upwards from man's 
position, towards this inscrutable and absolute author of all, 
there is a three-fold relationship, but it merges into a higher 
and closer relationship or duality, Father and Son, at last, 
and in respect to the Father himself, how can he possibly be 
double or treble, as mere talkers and singers about him 
hypothesize. 

The Rev. J. White, in his work entitled " Eighteen 
fc Christian Centuries," speaks of the policy of the great 
Emperor Constantine and his Church, whence emanated 
the geometrical problem of the Nicene Creed, as follows : — 

" Constantine had determined that Constantinople should 
fC from its very foundation be the residence of a Christian 
" people, churches were built, and a priesthood appointed; 
i( yet with the policy which characterized the church at that 
" time, he made as little change as possible in the external 
" forms. There is still extant, a transfer of certain properties 
" from the old establishment to the new ; there are contri- 
" butions of wax for candles, of frankincense and myrrh for 
" censors, and vestures for the officiating priests as before. 
" Only the object of worship is changed, and the images of 
{t the heathen gods and heroes are replaced with statues of 
" the apostles and martyrs. Chapels and altars were raised 
" upon all the places famous in Christian story, relics were 
" collected from all quarters, and we are early led to fear 
<f that the simplicity of the gospel is endangered by its 
" approach to the throne, and that Constantine's object was 
" rather to raise and strengthen a hierarchy of ecclesiastical 
" supporters than to give full scope to the doctrine of 
" truth." 

In another place the author says, 

"The dissensions of the Christian Churches only added a 
<e fresh element of weakness to the empire of Rome; there 
u were heretics everywhere supporting their opinions with 
" bigotry and violence, Arians, Sabellians, Montanists, and 
t€ fifty names besides. Torn by these parties, dishonoured by 
" pretended conversions, the result of flattery and ambition, 



REV. J. WHITE'S EIGHTEEN CHRISTIAN CENTURIES. 171 



" the Christian church was further weakened by the effect 
" of wealth and luxury upon its chiefs. While contending 
" with rival sects upon some point of discipline or doctrine, 
ts they made themselves so notorious for their desire of riches, 
" and the infamous arts they practised to get themselves 
" appointed heirs of the rich members of their congregations, 
(s that a law was passed making a conveyance in favour of a 
" priest invalid. And it is not from pagan enemies or 
" heretical rivals we learn this, it is from letters still extant 
" of the most honoured fathers of the church." 

It would appear that matters had not improved many 
centuries later, if we may credit Mr. Simon Fish's pamphlet, 
from Gray's Inn, about 1527, entitled the "Supplication of 
" Beggars scattered about at the Procession in Westminster 
" on Candlemas Day before His Majesty King Henry the 
" Eighth," about which period it was that Cuthbert Tonstal, 
then Bishop of London, waxed exceeding wroth, and pro- 
hibited the printing and circulation of several books, includ- 
ing Tindal's translation of the New Testament. 

Of Fish's pamphlet I give a few extracts, the whole is 
worth attentive study in Fox's Acts and Monumants : vol. ii, 
p. 228 and onwards. This well drawn picture of the times 
is said to have given King Henry a conscientious excuse for 
his suppression of the thousand monasteries, and other 
vampire-like bats, that preyed upon the poor. Unfortunately 
the poor became as badly off as ever soon afterwards, for the 
plunder was shared amongst the rich courtiers, and not by 
the poor subjects of this most valiant Defender of the Faith. 

" To the King, our Sovereign Lord, most lamentably 
" complaineth their woful misery unto your highness, your 
" poor daily beadmen, the wretched hideous monsters, on 
" whom scarcely for horror any eye dare look, the foul 
cc unhappy sort of lepers and other sore people, needy, 
" impotent, blind, lame, and sick, that live only by alms, 
" how that their number is daily and sore increased, that all 
" the alms of all the well disposed people of this your realm 
" is not half enough to sustain them, but that for very con- 
" straint they die for hunger. And this most pestilent mis- 



172 



FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 



ss chief is come upon your said poor beadmen, by reason 
" that there is, in times of your noble predecessors passed, 
" craftily crept into this your realm, another sort, not of 
u impotent, but of strong and counterfeit holy and idle 
" beggars and vagabonds, which since the time of their first 
" entry, by all the craft and wiliness of Satan, are now 
<c increased under your sight, not only into a great number, 
" but also into a kingdom. These are not the shepherds, but 
u numerous wolves going in sheep's clothing, devouring the 
tf flock. Bishops, abbots, priors, deacons, and suffragans, 
" priests, monks, canons, friars, pardoners, and sumners. 
" And who is able to number these idle ravenous sort, which 
" setting all labour aside, have begged so importunately, 
" that they have gotten into their hands more than the third 
" part of your realm ! The goodliest lordships, manors, 
" lands, and territories are theirs ; besides this, they have 
" the tenth part of all the corn, meadow, pasture, grass, 
u wood, colts, calves, lambs, pigs, geese, and chickens, over 
" and besides the tenth part of every servant's wages, the 
" tenth part of wool, milk, honey, wax, cheese, and butter; 
" yea, and they look so narrowly upon their profits, that the 
" poor wives must be accountable to them for every tenth 
" egg, or else she getteth not her rights at Easter, and shall 
" be taken as an heretic. Hereto have they their four 
" offering days. What money pull they not in by probates 
" of testaments, privy tithes, and by men's offerings to their 
" pilgrimages, and at their first masses? Every man and 
<f child that is buried must pay somewhat for masses and 
<c dirges to be sung for him, or else they will accuse their 
" friends and executors of heresy ! What money get they 
" by mortuaries, by hearing of confessions, by hallowing of 
" churches, altars, superaltars, chapels, and bells, by cursing 
" of men, and absolving them again for money ! What a 
" multitude of money gather the pardoners in a year ? 
" How much money get the sumners by extortion in a year, 
" by citing the people to the commissary's court, and after- 
" wards releasing them for money ? Finally, the infinite 
" number of begging friars, what get they in a year ? 



MR. SIMON FISH'S PAMPHLET FROM GRAY'S INN. 173 



" Here, if it please your grace to mark, you shall see a thing 
" far out of joint. There are within your realm of England 
<e 52,000 parish churches, and this standing that there be 
" but ten households in every parish, yet are there 520,000 
" households, and of every of these households, hath every 
" of the five orders of friars a penny a quarter for every 
" order ; that is, for all the five orders, five pence a quarter 
ee for every house, that is, for all the five orders, twenty 
" pence a year of every house, summa 520,000 quarters 
" of angels, that is, 260,000 half angels, summa 130,000 
" angels, summa totalis 43,333 pounds, six shillings, and 
" eight pence sterling ! Whereof not four hundred years 
" passed they had not one penny ! 

" O grievous and painful exaction, thus yearly to be paid, 
" for which the people of your noble predecessors, the Kings 
" of the Ancient Britons ever stood free. And this will 
" they have, or else they will procure him that will not give 
" it to them, to be taken as an heretic. What tyrant ever 
" oppressed the people like this cruel and vengeable genera- 
(e tion ? What subjects shall be able to help their prince, 
" that after this fashion be yearly polled ?" (The King 
pricks up his ears.) 

M What good Christian people can be able to succour us 
" poor lepers, blind, sore, and lame, that be thus yearly 
" oppressed. Is it any marvel that your people so complain 
" of poverty ? What doth this greedy sort of sturdy, idle, 
f( holy thieves, with these yearly exactions that they take of 
" the people ? Truly nothing but exempt themselves from 
" the obedience of your grace, nothing but translate all rule, 
" power, lordship, obedience, and dignity from your grace 
" unto them." (I'll see about this, thinks the King.) 

" Yea, and what do they more ? Truly nothing but 
<c apply themselves by all the sleights they may, to have to 
" do with every man's wife, every man's daughter, and every 
" man's maid ; that cuckoldry and bawdry should reign over 
" all amongst your subjects, so that no man might know his 
" own child, that their bastards might inherit the possessions 
" of every man, to put the right begotten children clean 



174 



FEUDAL INSTITUTIONS. 



" besides their inheritance in subversion of all estates and 
" goodly order." (Scandalous, thinks the King.) " These be 
" they* that by abstaining from marriage do hinder the 
<£ generation of the people, whereby all the realm, at length 
<e if it should be continued, shall be made a desert and unin- 
i( habited." (What! hinder the, what's his name? I must 
interfere here, says the King.) 

" What remedy ? Make laws against them ? If ye be 
" able, are they not stronger in your parliament house than 
* f yourself? What a number of bishops, abbots, and friars 
" are lords of your parliament. So captive are your laws 
<f unto them, that no man whom they list to excommunicate 
" may be admitted to any action in any of your courts. If 
" any man in your sessions dare be so hardy to indict a 
" priest, of any crime, he hath, ere the year be out, such a 
" yoke of heresy laid on his neck that it maketh him wish 
* he had done with it." 

The memorial winds up with recommending His Majesty 
to make these idle begging priests work for their living. 

The King does interfere at last with a vengeance, but this 
reformation does not appear to have resulted in doing any- 
thing for the masses, nor yet the later resolution that 
expelled the Stuarts. Everything tends to add to the wealth 
and dignity of those already rich. In this year of our Lord 
1859, no less than forty of the British aristocracy possess 
church patronage, and corresponding political influence, 
secured by its dispensation, to the amount of £170,000 ster- 
ling per annum ! 

The following extract from the newspaper records of post- 
diluvian civilization conveys a tolerably accurate picture of 
Great Britain. The upper and middle classes alone appear 
Christianized, the lower orders are said to be a set of brutal 
savages. And whose fault is that ? 

The Characteristics of Great Britain. — Of the glories of his 
country what loyal Briton can be insensible or unmindful? Our 
unrivalled empire; our secure and splendid monarchy; our magnificent 
aristocracy, peerless among the noblesse of Europe, not only on account 
of the refinement, accomplishment, and wealth for which it is pre- 



CHAKACTEEISTICS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 175 



eminent, but, most of all, because of the truly noble qualities which 
add lustre and envied distinction to many of its members ; the 
freedom and the statesmanly ^discipline and spirit of our legislature ; 
our wonderful free press, which wields a power so unparalleled, on the 
whole so wisely and so well ; our unequalled commerce ; our stupend- 
ous manufactures; our national self-government, self-reliance, and in- 
domitable energy; the godly reverence and Christian -principle which, to 
so considerable an extent, pervade our noble and upper classes ; the 
Christian zeal of the British churches, and the manifold benevolence 
which, in a thousand forms of voluntary charity, distinguishes the 
nation ; all these are characteristics which, in degree at least, if not in 
kind, are peculiar to Britain among European nations ; and, taken col- 
lectively, they exhibit a summary of virtues and advantages of which 
a patriot spirit may perhaps be pardonably proud. Yet we are bound 
to say that our national pauperism, and the coarse and fierce animalism 
of our lower orders, are our opprobrium in the sight of Europe. "We 
are the richest nation; and yet, at any rate within the limits of 
Northern and Western Europe, our common people are, beyond com- 
parison, the most pauperized. There is amongst us more refinement, 
and more true and energetic Christianity, than in any European land ; 
and yet, our operatives of the lower sort are indisputably more drunken, 
more coarsely vicious, more brutal in their manners, than are the lower 
orders of any other nation. How startling are these contrasts and 
anomalies! — The London Review, 1858. 



176 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 

All sacerdotalists persist in immortalizing or deifying evil as 
an absolute power; and from the existence of this spectre of 
theological evil, so conjured up by the human mind itself, 
they attempt to establish the necessity for a future life, on the 
ground, that otherwise justice to man would be very one- 
sided, since good is not properly rewarded, nor sin 
adequately punished, in the ephemeral life of three score 
years and ten. Theologians therefore stipulate for immor- 
tality beyond the grave, where a system of compensation is 
ready scheduled for legal adjustment of out-standing claims, 
where vindictive retribution and savage chastisement awaits 
the wrong-doers who contrive to escape vengeance before 
they die. 

This hypothesized power of evil leavens all theologies, not 
excepting even that broad phase of rationalism that 
unitarianism once assumed; for instance here is Dr. Chan- 
ning: — this distinguished essayist has written an essay upon 
" Immortality," taking for his text 2 Tim. i, 10. 

He says — 

" I allow that human nature abounds in crime, but this 
" does not destroy my conviction of its greatness and immor- 
" tality. I say that I see in crime itself the proofs of 
" human greatness, and of an immortal nature. Consider 
" what is implied in crime, and in what it originates. It has its 
" origin in the noblest principles that can belong to any being. 
" I mean in moral (theological?) freedom. There can be no 



DK. CHAINING ON IMMORTALITY. 



177 



" crime without liberty of action ; without moral (theological ?) 
<e power. It is only because man has the faculties of reason 
c< and conscience, and a power over himself, that he is capable 
" of contracting guilt. Thus guilt itself is a testimony to 
" the high endowments of the soul. Man sins by being 
" exposed to temptation. jSTow the great design of tempta- 
" tion plainly is, that the soul by withstanding it should gain 
ee strength, make progress, and become a proper object of 
" divine reward. Man sins through an exposure which is 
" designed to carry him forward to perfection ; so that the 
(t cause of his guilt points to a continued and improved 
" existence. Guilt has a peculiar consciousness belonging to 
1 ' it which speaks strongly of a future life ; it carries with it 
" intimations of retribution ; its natural associate is fear. 
" The connection of misery with crime is anticipated by a 
" kind of moral (?) instinct. Guilt sometimes speaks of a 
cc future state, even in louder and more solemn tones than 
"virtue; it has been known to overwhelm the spirit with 
" terrible forebodings, and has found, through its presenti- 
" ments, the hell which it feared. Thus guilt does not 
" destroy, but corroborates the proofs contained in the soul 
" itself of its own future state. The great sinfulness of the 
" world makes the virtue which is in it more glorious. 

" I delight to behold the testimony which sin itself fur- 
i( nishes to man's greatness and immortality." 

" In sublime constancy I see a testimony to the worth and 
" immortality of human nature that outweighs the wicked- 
" ness of which men seem to be victims. Sin itself becomes 
" a witness to the future life of man." 

This was part of the serpent-priest's argument with Eve and 
Adam before their fall ! 

Further on the essayist remarks — 

" Immortal happiness is nothing more than the unfolding 
" of our own minds ; the full, bright exercise of our best 
" powers, and these powers are never to be unfolded here or 
" hereafter, but through our own exertions." 

Now Dr. Channing says that man sins because he is 
exposed to temptation, in a world where evil is designed to 



178 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



rouse him into action ; to resist, combat, to overcome it ; yet 
he contends that man is perfectly free, and that without such 
freedom he could not sin. It is not a question of relative 
freedom, good and evil powers, because that involves only 
relative rewards and punishments, which are temporal. 
Theology is the science of absolutes, because its immortality 
implies eternal or absolute rewards and punishments. 

If evil is designed by Deity to subject man to temptation, 
how can man be responsible for what he finds prepared to 
meet him ? He either resists and overcomes, or is vanquished 
and perishes. If he is successful in this struggle he becomes 
stronger by resistance : but is fulfilling his destiny any 
reason why an eternal reward is to be given to him ? And if 
immortality is the result of this evil, since resistance operates 
to unfold the mind to fullest exercise of its latent powers, it 
cannot be essential or absolute evil at all. 

The logical deduction from Dr. Channing's essay, it will 
readily be seen, is really the necessarian doctrine, that Deity's 
dealings with all mankind are in strict conformity with that 
unvarying current of natural processes, that makes men con- 
form to the conditions of their allotted existence, be those 
conditions what they may. It is absurd to maintain that sin 
or theological evil, corroborates those assumed a priori 
evidences of the soul's immortality that are said to exist in 
the human mind, and further to assert that crime itself 
proves the greatness and divinity of man, while it is 
admitted that there is only consciousness of the effects of 
outraged conditions of existence, to hold the candle to the 
conjured up demon of sacerdotal evil. 

In another essay Dr. Channing says — 

" To sin is to resist our sense of right, to oppose known 
" obligations, to cherish feelings, and to commit deeds which 
" we know to be wrong." 

Again — 

ec It is voluntary wrong doing. Sin draws down the dis- 
" pleasure of God, and draws after it misery and death to 
" the soul. Sin is violated duty, the evil of the heart, and 
" is the only evil of which scripture takes account. Sins 



CONFLICTING THEOKIES RESPECTING SIN. 



179 



" which are followed by no palpable pain, are yet terribly 
" avenged even in this life ; they spoil us of the armour of a 
" pure conscience and trust in God, abridge our capacity for 
" happiness, impair our relish for innocent pleasures, and in- 
" crease our sensibility to suffering." 

From one essay we learn that sin evidences man's greatness, 
and corroborates intuitional convictions of the soul's immor- 
tality ; and from another we find that the effect of this same 
sin is to draw after it death to the soul. How the self-same 
cause can prove the soul's immortality, and at the same time 
make it mortal, is just one of those curious paradoxes that 
some clergymen revel in. With respect to the evil of which 
the scriptures take account, it is only needful to observe here, 
that they ignore theological evil altogether, so that the only 
evil and evil messengers of which they warrant the existence 
are the pains, disasters, diseases, and death, that afflict man- 
kind in mortal or ephemeral conditions. As regards the 
assertion that man's sin has its origin in noble principles when 
it is said to be voluntary wrong doing, and transgressing the 
conditions of their existence; it only shows into what a 
muddle of thought folks get floundering when they overlook 
the merely relative character of all sensational phenomena 
upon human consciousness ; and it serves to demonstrate the 
worthless nature of all theism based upon human perspective, 
and how this study appears to blind a man's eyes, derange his 
wits, stop up his ears, leaving open nothing but the mouth, 
as if the opening of this last orifice necessitated the 
closing of all other apertures ; bringing down upon the head 
of the unhappy student of divinity a much worse misfortune 
than that which befel a poor shepherd in the Australian bush, 
who required nothing, so he said, beyond a small toothed 
comb to set his head to rights. 

Dr. Channing expresses himself much perplexed about the 
assumed purely immaterial nature of the human soul, and 
comments on Milton's notion, which was opposed to the 
absurd hypothesis of the creation of the universe out of 
nothing, for he held that there could be no action without a 
passive material to operate on. Milton controverted the 

N 2 



180 



THE PROBLEM OP EVIL. 



conventional idea, that there is a definite and positive dis- 
tinction between the human body and soul, arguing that if 
the material universe is an efflux from Deity, it is susceptible 
of intellectual functions, and thus he affirmed man to be 
intrinsically and properly one living being, not compound, 
nor separable, nor of two natures, as soul and body, but the 
whole man a soul, and the soul a man, in other words, one 
animated, sensational, and rational individual. 

Dr. Channing speaks of matter thus: — 

" Matter which seems to common people so intelligible is 
" still wrapped in mystery. We know it only by its relation 
(i to mind, (imponderable force ?) or as an assemblage of 
" powers to awaken certain sensations. Of its relation to 
" God, we may be said to know nothing, perhaps as know- 
£f ledge advances, we shall discover that the Creator is bound 
" to his works by stronger and more intimate ties than we 
" now imagine. "We do not quarrel with such questions as 
" Milton's, though we cannot but wonder at the earnestness 
" with which he follows out such doubtful speculations." 

Doubtful speculations? AVhy this question respecting 
the supposed creation of matter, or its existence as that one 
which, per se, is able to generate the concept of such abso- 
lute existence in the human mind, is at the root of the entire 
subject in debate. In ancient sacerdotal systems, matter 
was regarded as inherently sinful, in fact, as being the posi- 
tive evil principle in the universe ; and asceticism has its 
origin in this hypothetical inherent sinfulness of matter in 
human conditions, which evil required to be purged by 
vigorous discipline, emaciating, cutting, and wounding the 
body, with the avowed design of finally releasing the 
purely immaterial spirit or soul from its deadly material 
members. 

If Channing had never studied divinity of good and evil, 
he would have read his Bible with more vigorous, penetra- 
tive, and perceptive pow T er than he evidences possession of, 
but having been employed for some time in poking up the 
embers of the metaphysico-theological fire, he became blinded 
by the smoke of that pyroligneous acid gas that this 



PAIN INHERENT IN COSMICAL GESTATION. 181 



smouldering tree throws off. Dr. Charming allows that 
mind cognises matter only as an assemblage of powers to 
awaken certain sensations in its consciousness. So that 
material processes have the effect of calling into play certain 
reflex actions called sensations, of which mind is but part ; 
then why may not pain and sorrow (concreted into theolo- 
gical evil) be necessarily associated with pleasurable sensa- 
tions ? and thus sustain the Bible statement that good and 
evil have a monogenetic origin, that is, both proceed from 
the same generator of vitality, who must consequently ignore 
the existence of sacerdotal evil. 

The truth seems to be, that the existence of pain, sorrow, 
suffering, and death, which is all the evil that the Bible 
acknowledges, is simply the effect resulting from the con- 
dition of organized life, in its relation as an embryonic 
growth in the womb of material process, to that tremendous, 
overwhelming, and concentrated energy of omnipresent power, 
which necessitates this protecting envelope of suffering or 
painful sensation to impede or diminish that force, which would, 
if not maternally and materially intercepted or mitigated, 
consume by the immensity of unrestrained power those tiny 
atoms of life, that are thus guarded in their initial frail and 
delicate growth by the vis inertice that is interposed by their 
mother's fostering care. 

This impeding protectorate of maternal interposition is 
ever at work in surrounding her offspring with her nega- 
tional quality, to time or temporize the overwhelming 
energy of the eternal generator of vitality ; and but for this 
travailing, sorrowing gestation in maternal and material care, 
there would not be that impediment to the action of omni- 
potent energy, that is required to permit the necessary 
timing or conditioning of absolutes into relatives, and allow- 
ing these young children to exist unconsumed in the focal 
light of the great power which sustains the vivified globules 
of solar and planetary worlds, flickering and twinkling on 
the bosom of that mighty ocean in which they float. 

If it be conceded that all material or natural processes are 
one prolonged gestation, then it will be seen that sorrow and 



182 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



painful effects or sensations are not necessarily inherent in 
matter as an antagonistic influence begotten and sustained by 
a father and offspring of evil principle or imponderable force, 
but that pain and sorrow appear to be inherent in all 
gestating life and growth ; thus all conception is attended 
with sorrow, and that pain accompanies those conditions of 
life that exist dependent upon a maternal protection to 
modify or impede the otherwise overwhelming energy of 
omnipotent power. Omnipotence can only be finited and 
defined, or made divisional for phenomenal effects,— such as 
growing individuality exhibits, — by the veil of protecting pain 
in divine parturition. The apostle Paul records his opinion, 
that the whole of nature groans and travails in this process 
of divine gestation, waiting for the consummation of that 
predestined period allotted for the birth of the sons of the 
eternal Father. 

The same illustration was made use of by Jesus, who said 
that all the sons of God were destined to feel the painful 
effects of sorrow in mental sensations, analogous to the 
travail of a child-bearing woman when her allotted hour had 
arrived. 

The hypothesis of the existence of evil as a power, force, 
or principle, absolute and unconditioned, warring against 
divine goodness, overlooks the first axiom that should be at 
the basis of true theism, viz., that of Deity's omnipotence. 
This, indeed, is admitted without scruple by Dr. Gumming, 
in his "Great Tribulation," pages 110 and 255, where he 
limits God's power by refusing to allow him ability to 
eradicate theological evil. 

In a lecture upon the monogenesis of force, Professor 
Smee says : — 

cf All force has a monogenetic origin, and when generated 
{( sl truly equivalent power." 

But sacerdotalism of good and evil denies this axiom 
flatly, for it could have no fundamental antithesis to work 
upon for eternal reward and punishment, if all force when 
once generated had truly an equivalent power. How could 
a good parent beget evil ? If this is denied, then there is 



THE MONOGENESIS OF FORCE. 



183 



no alternative for them but to controvert the promise, that 
all force has a monogenetic origin. 

The gross absurdities which clergymen give utterance to 
when pursuing a train of theological investigation, may be 
instanced in the following Extract from iS The Leisure 
6t Hour," of 9th February, 1854, which sample of theistical 
philosophy is affiliated upon Dr. Hugh Mc Neile. 

A STRIKING ILLUSTRATION. "Imagine one of our 
" planets to have been flung out of its orbit beyond the reach 
" of the attraction of gravitation. It has no power of itself to 
" return to its orbit, and unless some extra power be exer- 
" cised upon it, it becomes a wanderer in the immensity of 
" space, and must continue a wanderer for ever. Now man 
" has been flung by sin, through the fall, out of his moral 
" orbit, he is without the reach of the attraction of holy 
" love, there is no principle within him to restore him to 
" happy revolution round the sun of righteousness, and 
" unless some extra power be put forth, unless the breathings 
" of divine love follow and reach him, he is, and must be, a 
" wanderer for ever." 

This is, indeed, "a striking illustration;" but it is of the most 
lamentable ignorance, or wilful perversion of the soundest 
and commonest axioms in natural philosophy. In this 
striking illustration of the peculiar effects of theological 
force, we are called upon to imagine a physical impossi- 
bility, viz., that of a planetary world flung out of its orbit, 
and requiring super or preter-natural power to restore it to 
existence. In something like this sapient style of absurd 
speculation, it has gravely been suggested that the asteroids 
are the remains of a large planetary body rent asunder by 
some theological catastrophe ! When once the mind has 
surrendered itself to this sort of shambling meditation, 
there is no limit to the ludicrous misfitting of true logical 
relations. 

The several hypotheses of attractive forces acting at a dis- 
tance, or of stellar, planetary, and cometary orbital and elliptical 
revolutions in space, or of two atoms of matter being neces- 
sary to set up gravitation, are all loose and arbitrary assump- 



184 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



tions that confuse instead of clearing up difficult problems. 
These assertions, each and altogether, contribute to explain 
away or to ignore the positive and absolute omnipotence and 
conservation of one ever-present, ever-acting power or force 
of monogenetic origin, that is everywhere one and the same, 
that has on its positive and absolute side no bounds, limits, or 
conditions, but which has on its material, relative, or nega- 
tive face, turned towards man, certain definite and calculable 
conditions that reveal phenomenally its existence, which 
conditions and definitions of existence it is man's privilege 
to study, and his happiness and health to obey. 

Professor Faraday, in his lecture on the "Conservation of 
" Forces," argues that gravitation is properly one form only 
of one omnipresent force, that is present not only in all 
material atoms, but in all space, and he neither admits as his 
own conclusion, nor allows that Newton held, that gravita- 
tion strictly implies direct action at a distance. He says, 
that the hypothesis of gravitation, varying inversely with the 
square of material distances, is a definition of its action that 
gives but an imperfect account of the whole of that force, 
inasmuch as such a phenomenon can be only one exercise of 
that power, and that consequences or changes in condition 
must occur in gravitating bodies in proportion to the 
apparent increase of power developed in agglomeration of 
material atom^. lie says further, that inertia of matter 
proves the axiom of the absolute conservation of force, re- 
marking that he cannot believe that the totality of a force 
can be employed either in the mode assigned to gravitation, 
or in electrical or magnetic action; and observes, that if we do 
not see consistency between gravitation, magnetism, and 
electricity, it is because we are ignorant of them. In con- 
troverting the assumption that gravity depends upon two 
material atoms or aggregrates of atoms, and that one atom 
by itself will not gravitate, Faraday says: — 

" It is held that we cannot conceive the relation of a lone 
" particle to gravitation according to present limited view of 
" that force. I can conceive its relation to something which 
" causes gravitation, and with which, whether this particle 



NECESSARY OMNIPRESENCE OP FORCE. 



185 



c< of matter is alone, or one of a universe of other particles, 
" it is always related." 

It seems now to be a growing conviction, that the hypo- 
thesis of gravitation being the action of aggregates of 
material atoms, at a distance, is untenable, unless such can be 
proved to be, like Sir Boyle Roach's celebrated bird in two 
places at once, ex. gr. the sun cannot be, per se s the actual 
cause of planetary orbital motions, for no body can act upon 
another where it does not exist. It must be that each 
planetary aggregate of atoms moves by the propulsion or 
compulsion of one omnipresent ever acting force, which is 
intimately and indissolubiy related by the most complete of 
all unions that can be conceived to each atom. 

Power, force, causation, call it what we may, is and must 
necessarily be omnipresent, there can be no such thing as 
interstellar voids, there cannot be a purely void space : 
aggregates of material atoms are sustained in motion by a 
current that is not material like a fluid, because fluid presses 
with equal force in every direction. 

The interstellar spaces are not voids, for they are occupied 
by an omnipresent existence that is incessantly in motion, 
but is hidden from human perception in its foetal condition 
of existence; and there is no revelation of this great ever 
present entity, except where in exceptional modes of its 
being, a sort of saturation point is attained, serving, through 
such definite and infinitesimal point, to afford negatively 
a glimpse of the vast ocean of positive light that exists 
behind it. 

There cannot be two forces in existence, since all force has 
a monogenetic origin. The negative of electrical action, is 
one face of the same flux that the positive is higher and 
enveloping side of, and material atoms are the Leyden jars 
that separate the current of force into positive and negative 
relations. 

Every form of force known to man is definite, both in 
amount and disposition ; and every modification of the form 
and disposition of force, is connected with changes in the 
molecular structure of material aggregates. Each new dis- 



186 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL* 



position of force implies an actual change in the relative 
disposition of material atoms. There is no action without 
this subtle mutation of atoms of matter, and no change of 
material particles without this action. Incessant mutation 
is at the very foundation of all conditions of material exis- 
tence, and the phenomena of such change is all that mind 
cognises of the existence of force, and it is to no purpose 
that man appeals to his consciousness of what he calls intel- 
ligent causation, to prove the homogeneousness of his mind 
with that of the unknown generator of phenomenal exis- 
tences. The logical result of this hypothesis of intelligent 
causation is the reduction of Deity's omnipotence to limited 
and definite, though superhuman mental attributes. 

All force, since its impregnation of material ova or atoms, 
has essentially a timed or phenomenal aspect. The absolute 
or positive is the unknown side of one force that matter 
reveals, and the negative and relative is that side of the same 
power that is presented to human view. Without a material 
personation there can be no revelation of any existence, and 
all known power come through this incarnation ; but while 
all that man knows, or can know, is directly derived from 
material concepts, they serve as a veil to hide what is not for 
man to know until he is in a higher condition or mode of 
that one mighty existence of which he is now only faintly 
conscious. 

The earth is illuminated in common with the other planets 
by solar light, but the sun is not itself the absolute cause of 
light, it is an effect only, that is, it exists in such a condition 
of aggregation of material atoms, that its molecular arrange- 
ment serves as a medium through which is obtained the 
effect of magnetic electric light. But that omnipresent light, 
in which all modes and conditions of existence " live, move, 
(i and have their being," transcends the phenomenal solar 
light, as much as the brilliance of the solar focus is positive 
to the negative curtain that surrounds it ; but to human con- 
sciousness there can be no cognition of any such superior 
omnipresent light, until the molecular constitution of the 
brain and nervous system has attained to such a focal eleva- 



POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE RELATIONS OF FORCE. 187 



tion as will enable it to exist without destruction in the 
accelerated action of that magnetic polarization that reveals 
the omnipresence of one great source of all light. 

The declaration in the Bible is to the effect, that Deity 
has revealed his existence to man; not that man has ever 
found Deity. This revelation is undoubtedly absolute to 
the maker of it, but it has a negative aspect in relation to 
man's position, that is to say, that subject as man necessarily 
must be to conditional arrangements, no one has ever stood 
facing the revelation of Deity's existence, so as to see its 
absolute and positive side. 

Thus the knowledge of Deity by man cannot have th( 
same perspective that knowledge of man by the great 
universal being has; because relative entity in this one 
absolute, has, from lowest to highest in the scale of condi 
tions, a negative and positive relation to what is either above 
or below it, and this duality of relation is inherent in that 
division of ego from non ego, which the material constitution of 
everything sustains. 

So the Bible is not the positive revelation of the absolute 
one of "1 am," but only as related to the second person, 
ic Thou art my Son," and through this second to the third, 
that is to man as " he is." There is no direct communica- 
tion from the first to the third in this trinity ; that can only 
come through the mediating second with positive and 
negative relations. The positive side of man's position 
towards the revelation of the first / am in the second or 
relative, is but the negative of this Son's face in his posi- 
tion to the universal and absolute paternal existence. For 
instance, in Moses' case he pleaded for permission to behold 
that side of the Son or angel of the Lord's revelation which 
was turned from him, but the reply to such request was 
prompt, that being a man in his mode or condition of phe- 
nomenal existence, he could not possibly behold the absolute 
and essentially positive face, and exist unconsumed in the 
light of its focal power; Moses, therefore, remained satisfied 
with the negative or hack part of the Son's revelation of the 
eternal, and so long as he was conditioned to human or 



188 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



ephemeral mode of existence, he could have no other view. 
In the case of Moses, Deity declared that he spoke face 
to face with him ; so that it is plain that what was Moses' 
revelation to the Israelites was the Son or anointed One of the 
Father, known to and commissioned as his special angel or 
messenger, yet, after all, this positive side of Moses' revela- 
tion was but the negative face of the an^el of the Lord's 
revelation, although they were both undoubtedly children of 
the one great universal Father. 

Moses received from the messenger of the Lord a positive 
and definite revelation of Deity's attributes, and this know- 
ledge so acquired was by him communicated to the Israelites. 
There could not be any definite revelation given by the 
infinite himself, for to define is to limit, and make subject to 
conditions, there fore, the revelation comes through the 
second in the trinity of relationship of man to Deity, for the 
second has ;i definite and calculable position which the 
infinite has not. Now these attributes of Deity's existence 
are explained away by sacerdotalism of good and evil, 
because they are made conditional by man upon Deity, 
limiting him within the bounds of theological definitions ; 
man himself judges how Deity ought to act, and judgment 
is invoked by accusation, and man himself accuses his fellow; 
Deity does not accuse. Theologians persist in postulating 
their Deity as a judge of human cognitions, thoughts, and 
actions, and they claim reward, and demand fierce punish- 
ment for man's free acts as responsible for good and evil, 
and yet if the following revelation of Deity's attributes 
through Moses be true, the eternal and infinite can judge no 
man in any way, that is, has neither eternal reward nor 
eternal punishment to give, for he ignores the very existence 
of theological evil. The revelation of Deity in the per- 
sonality of the " Angel of the Lord " to Moses was this, 

" The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
" suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping 
" mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, 
" and sin." 

Now it is obvious from this, that the life of man being 



MEDITATION OF A SELF-SACRIFICING PRIEST. 189 

only a conditioned mode of one universal existence, that life 
is forfeited upon a breach of those definite conditions, and 
thus, strictly speaking, all death may be called suicide, as 
Baron Bunsen pertinently remarks in his " Signs of the 
" Times." 

"Nothing dies except from the absence of inward vital 
i( energy, and everything perishes by reason of itself, namely, 
" by its own principle of self-seeking, which oversteps the 
" conditions of its existence through criminal arrogance or 
" blind folly." 

The power of death is the Satan of selfishness, or self- 
will, which is continually committing breaches of the con- 
ditions of existence, and illustrating the axiom, that the soul 
which sins shall perish. But it is declared that the Lcrd 
and generator of life has prepared, through a mediator, a 
physician, in order that the breaches of conditioned life may 
be made good by restoration, and thus the eternal parent is 
not a judge to condemn and punish, but a provider of means 
to cleanse the sanctuary of life from those obstructions that 
derange the currents of vital force, and divert them into 
channels of morbid phenomena. The physician thus pro- 
vided by the Lord of life, for cleansing the temple of life, 
can only repair breaches of conditioned existence in others 
by parting with his own vitality. He must himself lose 
what others require for reparation of their wounds, and thus 
must continually die in order to enable others to sustain life, 
and he receives only for the purpose of giving again, freely 
surrendering his own inheritance of vitality, to carry on the 
work that he has been anointed or commissioned to perform. 

The emphasis of the revealed attributes of Deity, as a 
repairer of breaches of life, and thus forgiving transgression 
and sin, as longsuffering, and abundant in goodness, keeping 
mercy for thousands, is marked by the antithesis of threat- 
ened evils upon the contumacious, who resist all mediatorial 
approach ; but their punishment is not said to follow them 
into another condition of life, assumed to be an everlasting 
one, for the sins of the parents are visited upon their children 
by hereditary transmission of morbid phenomenal processes 



190 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



or disease, and thus nature's punishments are inherent in the 
crimes itself, and to repair these sins against health, a 
mediatorial physician or priest is provided by the Father, 
who requires his Son, as a servant to others, to surrender 
his inherited gifts, and if necessary, his life for the common 
good of society. 

All this is grievously perverted in modern churches by that 
inoculation of Christianity with the ancient virus of sacer- 
dotalism, which, by animating the universe with rival powers 
of good and evil, makes a bloody sacrifice of life essential for 
propitiation of the vindictive and savage ferocity of a punish- 
ing Deity. But the sacrifice required by the eternal Father is 
a free surrender of vitality, and the sacrifice of self upon the 
altar of duty for the common good. There must be some 
mediator between man's breach of the conditions of life, and 
the otherwise unrestrained energy of the omnipotent lord of 
life, and the mediating priest or physician can only cure 
others by taking upon himself his patient's sins. 

Now sacerdotalism of good and evil, with its perversion of 
divine attributes, was forced upon Job by his comforting 
friends, who are not represented as being heathens or sceptics, 
but actually professors of sacerdotalism of that age, whose 
arguments are unceasingly repeated to this day in the 
churches ; and the identical stumbling block that darkened the 
keen intelligence of Job's friends respecting the existence 
of pain, disaster, and death, as man's inheritance from the 
operation of theological evil, still remains to vitiate all clerical 
teaching on theistical philosophy. 

As might have been anticipated, the youngest professor of 
theological science Elihu, the son of Barachiel the Buzite, of 
the aristocratic family of the Bams, is the most dogmatic, 
zealous, and hot-headed, in the cause of his Deity's attributes, 
and he is prepared to condemn his fellow theologians because 
their opposition to Job's scepticism does not satisfy the 
orthodoxy of this erudite man, Elihu. This professor of 
divinity and moral philosophy asserts, that man derives his 
knowledge by direct' inspiration from Deity ; and according to 
the light of this inward consciousness or witness of the divine 



SIGNIFICANCE OF JOB'S TRIAL. 



191 



spirit, he, Elihu, now preaches; and he strenuously exerts 
himself to confute Job one way or another. He is 
young this regius professor, he will admit the truth of 
the impeachment, he is young, and youth may be thought to 
be some sort of a drawback ; but great and celebrated 
characters are not always as wise as they are commonly re- 
ported to be; neither do old heads invariably furnish the 
most correct judgment. Young as he may comparatively be 
he has had ample time an opportunity to form an orthodox 
opinion ; and in his own intuitive conviction, it is such an 
opinion as is decidedly worth knowing, and deserves to be 
widely circulated. There was really nothing in his pre- 
decessors' arguments calculated to convince Job, because 
their creeds were not strictly orthodox; there is nothing like 
strict orthodoxy, without which it is radically impossible 
to convert any one to knowledge of saving faith. As I am a 
priest regularly ordained in an orthodox church, I will confute 
Job, for I feel primed with wisdom, overflowing with 
theology, piety, and the genuine inflatus of the Holy Spirit, in 
point of fact full to bursting like a bottle of wine ready to 
break, so to ease myself, as well as edify you, I will let out 
a little. I should observe, by the way, before launching into 
my subject, that I carefully avoid all distinction between rich 
and poor, for that is not right before God. I preach to all 
alike, and never accept any one's person, or give flattering 
titles to any man. 

And now this very learned priest Elihu's sermon may 
be heard almost any Sunday, in any church, chapel, or con- 
venticle, throughout the length and breadth of Christendom. 
Elihu stands up for a providence that interferes in all human 
affairs ; rewarding the good, and punishing the wrong-doers, 
restoring the dying penitent to life and health, from his 
bed of disease. He asserts that God always hears and attends 
to the cry of the poor and afflicted, and will punish their 
oppressors, and tyrannical rulers, and princes. In speaking 
on Deity's behalf, he waxes ' warm in controverting Job's 
scepticism of theology, who declines to swallow the con- 
ventional solution of the problem of evil in the universe. 



192 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



Elihu seems to think that Job is an infidel, inasmuch as 
he hears him refuse to entertain orthodox theistical explana- 
tions of adequate rewards and punishments, together with 
theological responsibility ; and further, that he denies any- 
future life beyond the grave for mankind, any more than for 
the perishing brutes. Job considers that both good and evil, 
or pleasure and pain, are only sensational effects due to the 
peculiar condition of organised life in the womb of material 
processes; and he likens the dead to untimely, or assorted 
births. Elihu is indignant at this heresy ; he combines 
with the other comforting friends to press Job to come to 
confession and receive the benefits of their absolution, 
together with priestly comforting and advice. But Job says, 
he is not punished for any theological evil at all, he will con- 
fers nothing, and as for their spiritual comforting it is 
a miserable remedy, and their advice as unsavoury as saltless 
tasteless food. 

Elihu remonstrates warmly, and protests vigorously, that 
Deity is just, and never preserves or prolongs the life of the 
wicked, but always awards to the poor their just rights, that he 
unceasingly supports the right cause, and sustains good 
monarchs on their thrones to uphold orthodox religion. He says 
the righteous men spend their days in prosperity and their life 
in pleasure, but disobedient (or heretical) princes shall fall by 
the sword. God, he maintains, is the God of the poor and 
oppressed, always attending to their cry ; and to sum up his 
erudite speech, it is believed that divine providence has 
always helped the righteous man and punished the bad one, 
according to human views of justice ; but then the preacher 
stumbles a little before arriving at the winning post, and ere 
he concludes his remarks, indulges in a peroration of his 
Deity's power, w r isdom, majesty, and omnipotent strength ; 
which is all very true, as far as it goes, in its own way, but 
the seventhly and lastly, is by no means in logical keeping 
with the rest of his discourse, and is indeed anything but 
that grand solution of the great Sphinx's riddle of the ex- 
istence of pain and sorrow in the universe which he so 
dogmatically sought to force upon Job's acceptance, for 



job's comforting friends on deity's attributes. 193 



Elihu's wind-up is this candid confession, — " Concerning the 
" Almighty we cannot find him out !" 

Then why did this learned theologian, of the aristocratic 
family of the Rams, attempt to mislead his auditory 
by pretending to possess divine inspiration, and set himself 
up as an anointed apostle of theistic science? Either 
he has authority or he has not; if he has, why does he 
admit that he has sought for, and not been successful in 
finding Deity. 

As he has confessedly been unable to find what he wanted, 
he must have assumed gratuitously what he preaches as 
divine inspiration. 

If divine goodness ought to be, and actually is, the Being 
rewarding good men, and punishing the wrong-doers, here and 
hereafter, in the way that Prophet Elihu and the rest of his 
theistical professors contend that he must be, then there is no 
proof forthcoming that there is any deity at all ; since all 
experience goes to show that human affairs are adjusted in 
some way that defies the ingenuity of any man to discover 
it, or to demonstrate that there is any absolute freedom of 
action reserved for mankind ; but, on the contrary, that the 
laws of sociological science have yet to be discovered and 
obeyed by man, to apply those remedial measures for social 
disorders which are rashly and most unwarrantably ascribed 
to the operation of supernatural and theologically evil 
principles. 

Job does not deny the existence of Deity, nor yet can he 
deny that immortality is the inheritance of the children of 
the eternal Father; but he does deny, unmistakably and 
emphatically, that man has that knowledge of his existence 
that he claims to be possessed of. The foundation for the 
theism of his comforting friends is that of the fundamental 
antithesis of good and evil, necessitating freedom of action for 
man to contract guilt, or deserve reward for good conduct. The 
problem of evil in the universe is their stumbling-block, they 
all boggle at it, for they persist in animating the universe 
with an intelligence that is nothing but their own standard 

o 



194 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



of perfection hoisted into heaven. In fact they idolize the 
human mind itself, and this is the foundation of all sacerdo- 
talism. 

Job argues that a man should do his duty because it is his 
duty, and he must not look for eternal reward or pun- 
ishment ; and as for evil, he asks " Shall I not take evil 
" (misfortune ?) from the hand of God, as I have taken 
" good ?" Thus he ignores the existence of theological evil, 
and controverts the notion that any solution of the problem 
of the existence of pain, sorrow, disaster, and death, in the 
universe, is capable of being given by mankind, so long as 
they persist in their misconceived ideas respecting their con- 
ditions of life, and what relation that condition has to Deity. 
So far as his theological friends can see from their own level 
of perspective in nature, they may be able to paint a 
tolerably good picture of sublunary affairs; in fact, Job does 
not much care to contradict them in their own philosophy. 
He says he knows all that they can tell him on conventional 
religious and social topics, and he cannot profit by their 
reiteration of the subject ; what he stoutly contends for is the 
fact that they cannot see the limited character of their know- 
ledge, and are blind to their own ignorance- They assume 
knowledge of the absolute, and having paraded infallible 
creeds, which all theologies of the absolute necessarily require* 
they are unable and unwilling to rectify the inadvertencies of 
crude thoughts, for they cannot confess their ignorance 
without admitting that their assumed knowledge of the 
absolute existence was a mistake. They take for granted 
what it is their business to prove, and their own prejudices 
blind them to the truth, so that they do not know their own real 
ignorance, and cannot perceive that corrected consciousness, 
by the inheritance of an elevated material condition of 
existence, would considerably alter their views of divine 
providence, and oblige them to confess that their first 
traditional concepts of Deity's relation to man were very far 
from being correct. And they would further be willing to 
admit that the result of their seeking to demonstrate the ex- 



NECESSARIANISM NOT NEGATIVE OF MORALITY. 195 



istence of a God upon the basis of the fundamental antithesis 
of theological good and evil, requiring freedom of action for 
man, with responsibility for future adjustment of mundane 
affairs, will infallibly lead to the conclusion that there is no 
such God at all, since it is not possible to demonstrate that there 
is any being whose acts are such as to shew that he carries on 
the work of providence in social life that is conventionally 
ascribed to him. 

The doctrine of man's responsibility, on the ground of this 
absolute freedom of action, destroys the axiom of Deity's 
omnipotence. To deny this responsibility, does not neces- 
sarily loosen the reins of mutual obligation and social rela- 
tions, by ignoring all distinction between right and wrong, 
for the fact is, men unceasingly try to shake off these obliga- 
tions every day of their lives in over -reaching their fellows. 
The necessarian argues, that let as much freedom be 
conceded to mankind as any theological or other speculative 
dogma is capable of elaborating, it will be found in actual 
practice, that this assumed liberty is limited by an iron rule 
that cannot be stretched without a fearful recoil some time 
or other upon those who indulge in such self-willed and 
childish antics. 

The denial of the dogma of theological evil cannot lead 
to confounding right and wrong ; for the guidance of sound 
natural sense, if maintained in health by proper exercise, 
will be law enough for any one, and no man of sense can 
suppose that it constitutes service of truth to be emancipated 
from observance of those conditions that eternal rectitude 
has made essential for happy existence. It is not denial of 
morality that necessarians teach when they refuse to acknow- 
ledge God's judgment of man, as responsible to him for 
good and evil. Man's obligation is due to his fellow, and 
the necessarian would not think of loosening the bonds of 
mutual and interdependent obligations. The Bible does not 
say, that Deity requires man's blood for blood shed. It says, 
that man's blood will flow from the judgment that man has 
called upon himself by his own act of shedding blood. To 

o 2 



196 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



postulate a Deity affected by murder, or any other human 
crime, is to pourtray Him as a truly miserable and impotent 
being, since he cannot adequately protect himself from the 
crimes of his own creatures ! Man's duty is to be done to 
his fellow, and all religion that pleads spiritualism for vain lip- 
service of Deity, and degrades social science by abandoning 
humanity to the dominant tyranny of empirical professors 
of piety is a farce. Man is bound to his fellow, and let him 
do his best in carrying out his theory of free will, he must 
in the end be mastered by that antagonism of self interest, 
in opposing free willers, that places unsurmountable barriers 
to any lengthy confusion of what is parenthesized as belong- 
ing exclusively to moral law. 

It is argued, that since crime against man often goes 
unpunished and undetected, such escape from retributive 
justice calls for trial and sentence in another life ; but what is 
here in the Bible to warrant any such supernatural adjust- 
ment of justice's scales ? Punishment for sin is inherent in 
crime itself. If Deity be truly that one existence, that is 
the everlasting now of u Iam" then his justice and his punish- 
ment are equally part of that eternal now, so that all effects 
of sin are necessarily inherent in the actions themselves. 
No one can conceive an idle thought without reaping the 
consequent effects of that psychical act, by the way in which 
it injures the molecular condition of his brain, this brain 
is evidently destined to mould the type of existence of which 
man is now but a foetal growth. 

It has ever been a special part of all true prophets' teach- 
ing, to insist upon the mens sana in corpore sano, as 
essential for sustaining the performance of active duties in 
the service of others, that is really the true worship of the 
universal Father. In ancient times the duties of physician 
and priest were associated, and the physician is after all the 
only true priest of the future. Now this physician-priest, to 
subdue the disordered vital action in others, must be in per- 
fectly sound health himself, and the necessity for careful 
training of this curative mediator, explains Jesus' remark to 



BAPTISMAL PURIFICATION. 



197 



his perplexed and baffled disciples, that obstinate cases of 
mental or bodily insanity cannot be successfully operated on, 
unless the physician has properly trained his brain and 
nervous system by abstinence and mental discipline. The 
galvanic or electro-magnetic current, prepared by a me- 
chanical apparatus from gross materials, is not properly 
available for delicate cases of nervous derangement that 
include mental unsoundness. The true galvanic battery is 
the brain and nervous system of the physician himself. 
Water baptism, especially in hot climates, is undoubtedly 
most important in maintaining that cleanliness that is akin 
to godliness, for mental insanity, and dirty, disgusting habits 
and conditions of body, too frequently synchronise, filth 
outward and visible, being a tolerably safe index to shew 
nastiness inward and mental; but the external application of 
water baptism is not to be substituted for that inward 
baptism of electric fire that is required to flush the dirty 
channels of the internal vital currents. 

It is observable, that ancient prophets have usually indi- 
cated the necessity of occasionally fasting from food, for the 
purpose of avoiding the undue exaltation and activity of the 
sanguineous system; because muscular superiority, caused by 
the excitement of full blood, is the negation of nervous 
superiority, and, vice versa, the superiority of the nervous 
system demands a negation of full blooded, muscular superi- 
ority. Flesh, blood nourished, is mortal, because dependent 
upon material bread, and man, it has been said, shall not live 
by this bread, or mother nature's nourishment, but by every 
word of life that vibrates from the eternal Father. Through 
the nervous system and brain, and not by the heart and in- 
voluntary organs of foetal life, must flow, that ceaseless cur- 
rent of vitality that will make man an inheritor of his 
father's estate of endless life. 

But the blindly selfish element in man, in his childish 
stage of growth, has perverted this necessary discipline of the 
body into ascetic mortifications, avowedly designed for 
exclusive personal benefit, as constituting the very modus 



198 



THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. 



operandi of achieving and claiming the hypothetical reward 
of immortality, which eternal life, however, is in no sense 
whatever any reward at all, but is a freely-conceded gift, 
conditioned of course by those arrangements of necessary 
connections that are inherent in the constitution of the 
universe of interdependent conditions of existence, where 
the unceasing flux of eternal processes makes the current 
of antecedent cause to necessary and succeeding effect, 
an endless round of exhaustless energy, sweeping with 
resistless power through the infinite expanse of the mighty 
universe. 



199 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE FALSE PROPHETS. 

With modern interpretation of Hebrew prophecy, is 
popularly associated the name of the Rev. Dr. Cumming. 
In fact, this theologian has attained to the distinction of 
being regarded as a prophetic oracle, and so widely and 
deeply has his published interpretation operated upon 
public opinion in Great Britain, that if he cannot eventually 
succeed in establishing a reputation for true interpretation 
of Hebrew poesy and prognostication, he must submit to the 
misfortune that he has invocated upon himself, of being con- 
sidered nothing less than one of those false prophets, who 
were predicted to make their appearance in the last days, and 
lead folks astray from the true current of predestined events. 

To form any opinion of Dr. Cumming's ability to interpret 
correctly the hidden meaning of ancient prophecy, it will be 
desirable to investigate his reading and teaching of Biblical 
doctrine in respect of other subjects connected with, but 
not altogether included in, Hebrew prognostication; and for 
this purpose there is afforded a fair field for critical analysis 
in his work entitled " The Great Tribulation," published in 
1859, which consists of a series of thirty-seven lectures ; and, 
as the Doctor informs his readers, that he has been engaged 
for no less a period than twenty years in preaching, lecturing, 
and publishing theological effusions, he ought by this time to 
have attained to some proficiency in the art of conveying his 
original and acquired ideas in something like intelligible and 
logical statements. 



200 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



With reference to Mahomet, who has generally, if not 
universally, been set down by Christian ministers as the 
great false prophet, Dr. Cumming remarks, at page 34 : 

"With all the awful errors of the Mahometans they 
(e have never yet worshipped idols. It was the universal 
" idolatry of Christendom that provoked God to raise up 
<c the Mahometan scourge." 

This is an important and unlooked-for admission. If 
Mahomet is allowed to be a chosen witness of Deity's omni- 
potence, then why may not Sakya, and a host of other 
Iconoclasts have as much conceded to them as authorized 
exponents of natural theism ? There is no proof that 
Mahomet was the author of the Koran, neither is there any 
good evidence that Sakya founded what goes by the name of 
Buddhism, or that Moses was the parent of Rabbinical 
balderdash, nor yet that Jesus of Nazareth is an authority 
for the twaddling platitudes of Evangelical Protestantism. 

The following remarks on divine inspiration appear on 
p. 305. 

" Now I believe that God inspired the man that dis- 
" covered printing, the man that discovered steam, the man 
c< that discovered the electric telegraph, just as truly as 
(S (though dhTerently) he inspired John the Evangelist, 
" Peter, or Paul, to write the texts in the Bible." 

Some explanation of the parenthesized words though differ- 
ently, would have been very acceptable, but theological 
considerations have apparently precluded such exegesis of 
variations in modes of divine inspiration. The difference might 
then appear to be one of degree, not in essence, and would 
doubtless corroborate Locke's opinion that, " Revelation is 
" natural reason enlarged by a new set of discoveries com- 
" municated by God immediately, which reason vouches the 
" truth of." 

But in these critical times of theological emeutes about 
rationalism and the existence of verifying faculties, &c, it is 
perhaps prudent to let dangerous topics alone, or only to 
handle them very gingerly in the conventional style of 
religious slip-slop. At page 76, it is laid down that the 



BE. CUMMING'S GREAT TRIBULATION COMING. 201 



amount of hold that truth has on man's conscience, the joy 
it creates, and the impulse it gives, is the measure of his 
belief, and the reception of it. At page 273 the axiom is 
given that conviction is the child of argument ; but then it 
appears plain, from the lecturer's own admission, that the 
Bible has not imparted much virile power to theological 
controversialists, for at page 266 it is said, that when the 
wise demand explanations, an infallible solution of their 
difficulties can be found only in the word of God. The 
Bible is said to be all in all, for tradition is all moonshine, 
human reason only dim twilight, and every church on 
earth has erred, including the seven ancient ones in Asia ; 
and as for the Latin and Greek fathers, why careful rum- 
mage of their writings enables the lecturer to assert not only 
that they contradict each other flatly, but even achieve that 
interesting operation upon their own performances, which 
intimation is instructive. So the Bible is the thing, and as 
for any difficulties occurring in that quarter, they are really 
nothing, that is, they are only theological difficulties, and no 
parson ought to boggle over such obstacles, as witness this 
confession at page 298. Dr. Cumming says, " Whatever 
<e God has said shall be, I thoroughly and heartily believe, 
" and the difficulties that are about it never trouble me in 
" the least." 

Why should they ? Dr. Cumming professes to be a 
possessor of absolute truth, and it is, therefore, absurd to jib 
at merely relative or phenomenal discrepancies. A positive 
and negative aspect of truth is never allowed to be contained 
in the Bible, as it is known to exist in all other sciences. 

King Solomon's idea of revelation amounts to this, viz., 
that the perceptive power of the human intellect is cleared, 
and then when man's condition of intellectual existence is 
elevated above the ordinary mode, an opportunity is afforded 
of perceiving that which would otherwise be obscure, or to 
which man would be wholly blind. Revelation enables a 
man to see self-existent truth, for there is no secondary 
creation of truth for man to perceive. The clearing of 
human vision is the brightening of the sensorial mirror of the 



202 



THE FALSE PROPHETS 



mind, the better to reflect or image surrounding objective 
realities. Deficiency of perceptive power causes the pheno- 
mena of theological obstacles in the Bible ; and because safe 
and proper conditions of mental attributes have been lost by 
accepting and assimilating inherited prepossessions of theo- 
logical tradition, comprehension is clear only so long as 
the surface of the mental mirror is clear ; wrong impressions 
and distorted images must be obliterated, before a clear 
light can be thrown off from the reflecting mirror of the 
mind. A dull reflector is not in a condition to exhibit a 
clear, bright, sharply-defined outline. Thus comprehension 
necessitates an unbiassed or undefiled mental sensorium, and 
theological prejudices have the unfortunate effect of clouding 
the perceptive and reflective powers of the mind. As wit- 
ness the following candid confession of Dr. Cumming at 
page 98. He says: — 

" The Holy Spirit is a person, a divine person. We 
" believe that the Father is God, that the Son is God, and 
" the Holy Spirit is God. If we are asked to explain this, 
" I answer I cannot. If it be asked do we comprehend it ? 
" I answer no." 

Again, at page 112: — 

" The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy 
Ghost is God, and yet there is but one God. Do you ask 
" me to explain how there can be three, and yet only one ? 
w I cannot, and the more I look at it the less I comprehend 
" it ; but does that prove that the Bible is wrong." 

The difficulty with this lecturer is simply the fact that he 
uses the word "God" without comprehending the precise 
meaning of the term, that is, in its relation to his own indi- 
viduality or materialized personality. It is true that the 
Bible states that the Holy Spirit is God, and that there is a 
relationship of Father to Son, in which relationship alone 
has there been given any revelation of the personality of 
God ; but the Bible says nothing about three departments, 
or existences, or persons in God. A person necessarily 
implies the existence of a material organization, and the 
absolute Father is nowhere revealed as being such a person. 



THE PERSONALITY OF DEITY. 



203 



The Bible asserts that there can be no revelation of the 
Father, or of the absolute, except by, and in, and through 
the negative, or material personality of the Son. Father 
and Son then are not two persons, but the mutual relation- 
ship of two modes of eternal and absolute self-existence in 
one homogeneous personality. Theologians make Father 
and Son two persons or beings, in defiance of the biblical 
statement that Father and Son are one in personality ; that 
is to say, as above explained, this one personality combines 
the duality of two eternal self-existent modes of being. 

The sacerdotal hypothesis of the Trinity asserts in words, 
but denies both in reality and active duty, the essential unity 
of Deity. Anything that is urged against the theological 
misconcept of a triangularly- existing Deity is styled infi- 
delity, pantheism, materialism, or atheism, in fact exhaustion 
of clerical vocabularies alone limits the forms for pro- 
nouncing sacerdotal damnation. As for the charge of 
pantheism, let anyone carefully ponder this statement. " I 
ee (the Son) in them" (brothers,) and then, " that they in me 
<e (the sons, my brothers) may be One (in us) as we, (we 
" two, Father and Son) are one" (not two in personality.) 
So that instead of there being three persons, or three exist- 
ences in one God, there are countless millions of personal 
sons in one God. 

The declaration of Jesus to John in the Apocalypse, as 
the angel of the Lord, was plain enough, he says : — 

I am of thy brethren the prophets, the testimony that I 
have is the spirit of prophecy, uniting the children in one 
universal Father ; and whenever he spoke of his Father, it 
was as Our Father, not as my particular Father, ex. gr. 
I go to my Father, and to prevent any error he adds, and to 
your Father ; I go to my God, and to your God ; so that 
he ignores the profitless theological distinction between 
degrees and shades of metaphysical meanings, in reference 
to the children's mutual relationship to the great paternal 
generator of life that has impregnated the material universe. 

If the priestly trigonometrical survey of Deity, as stereo- 
typed in geometrical definitions in creeds had been positively 



204 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



true, something more than implied, supposed, or suggested 
teaching would have been discovered in the Hebrew Scrip- 
tures. If there were no other contradictions evident in 
sacerdotalism besides this of the trinity in unity, it might be 
fair to allow the priests some virile power in logical argu- 
ment to beget children by conviction, but it is far otherwise ; 
and here in this great tribulatory effusion of a mighty trinita- 
rian champion, there are to be found contradictory statements 
of the grossest kind, both expressed and implied, upon every 
third or fourth page, and not only is this the case, but the 
lecturer is obliged to confess the miserable fact, that the 
more he reads his Bible the less he comprehends its state- 
ments. And yet he is bold enough to challenge any and 
every antagonist to mortal combat, but by way of friendly 
caution he thinks it advisable to proclaim the fact, that he 
and his admirers or followers, have on their side the majority 
of all the saints. The minority may go to the devil, at least 
he asserts at page 273, that Satan has this lot already; we 
are told, " The minority is on Satan's side." But in addition 
to this, Dr. Cumming has the comfortable assurance, derived 
from some peculiar medium only known to himself, that he 
is supported by, whom does the reader think? At page 273 
his friends are thus enumerated, " All the angels in heaven 
" agree with us, all the saints in glory, all the goodly fellow- 
" ship of the prophets, the noble army of martyrs, the 
" glorious company of the apostles agree with us." 

Now an ordinary man might not, perhaps, fear to tilt a 
lance against a theologian, who preaches from a book that he 
candidly confesses he comprehends less and less the more he 
peruses it; but he would certainly shrink from running a 
muck against the angels in heaven. To attack Dr. Cum- 
ming solus might not be a very perilous feat, but to march 
against him when flanked by all the saints in glory on one 
side, the goodly fellowship of the prophets on the other, 
backed by the noble army of martyrs, with the glorious com- 
pany of the apostles in reserve,; would be a Quixotic and 
perilous adventure. 

Dr. Cumming echoes the cuckoo cry of popular misappre- 



FRUITLESS SEARCH FOR THE ORIGIN OF SIN. 205 



hension respecting the teaching of Carlyle and Emerson, 
whom he calls pantheists. But he does not define what he 
means by the term pantheism, for like most expressions this 
term has a very different meaning in theology to what it 
bears in secular language. For instance the lecturer sees no 
pantheism in the lies and jugglery of the spiritualists, in 
their table-rapping impostures, because he says he cannot see 
any evil spirit prompting the men ; but he succeeds (page 67) 
in discovering a real, living, theologically evil spirit in the 
rival Roman church, and states that if Pio JSTono were able 
to raise the dead he would say to him, u get thou behind me 
" Satan." Well, well, but raising the dead would be doing 
God's work. The power of Satan is that of decay and death, 
and a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Dr. 
Cumming has raised his own devil, so he must get the c< bogy" 
laid again as best he can. 

When Dr. Cumming goes steeple chasing upon that won- 
derful hobby horse of sacerdotalism, the origin of theological 
evil, he shies at his fences worse than usual. At page 226 
the question is asked, — 

" May not there be something in sin that we have never 
t( fathomed, do not yet know?" 

" We have never fathomed ! " He should have said " theolo- 
" gians have never fathomed," for how can they expect to make 
proper soundings when they have never yet solved the riddle 
of the bottomless pit ? As for the origin of theological sin 
and its fathomless abyss ; fortune be good to the poor mud- 
larks who have made it their business to engage in the hope- 
less and thankless task of rummaging that profundity of 
nastinesss; as profitless an undertaking as Mrs. White's 
dragging operations in the Thames, in search of the body of 
her poor, dear, departed, and lost husband. The wretched 
female hails with joy the faintest hope : — 

Ven she, vith expectation big, 

Thought Vite vos found ; but 'tvas his vig. 

At page 113 the lecturer "pops" another soft question, — 
" How is it, I ask, that we find sin rampant here, sickness 



206 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



" there, pestilence everywhere? You answer, and you answer 
" very properly. It is sin (theological evil ?) that explains 
» all." 

" So it does ; but this solution only sends us further back. 
" Why is sin ? If God be omnipotent why did he not prevent 
" the intrusion of it? If God be omnipotent now, why does 
" he not crush it ?" 

It is very odd that it never occurred to the lecturer to 
weigh the statement in the Bible that Deity is of purer eyes 
than to behold sacerdotal evil. The Hebrew scriptures ignore 
all theological sin ; they speak indeed of evil, but it is limited 
to the phenomena of troubles, disasters, and ills of mortal or 
human life. Thus Job speaks of it, and asks, "shall I not 
" take evil from God, as I have taken good?" His comforters 
wished to persuade him to acknowledge the theology of 
divine vengeance for evil, as well as reward for good ; but 
Job refused to swallow their quack medicine, and told them 
bluntly that there was no more flavour in their theistic 
twaddle than in the white of an egg, and that their preach- 
ing needed the salt of logical sense to make it palatable. 

Dr. dimming asks if God be omnipotent why does he not 
crush evil? 

The messenger or angel of the Lord has promised that the 
head of sacerdotal theism shall be crushed, vide Gen. ii. The 
way to crush theological evil is to bruise and damage the 
power of priestcraft that generates the concept of the exist- 
ence of theological evil in the human mind. 

Dr. Cumming answers his own queries respecting Deity's 
omnipotence by practically denying its existence ; for at 
page 255 he asks what divine omnipotence is, and the answer 
given is actually the reverse of Mr. Aminadab Sleek's idea 
of muscular Christianity. Mr. Sleek, true to the theological 
separation of omnipotence into two forces, when he is called 
upon to support his fainting patroness, replies, " Morally I 
" would, but physically I am unable." Dr. Cumming's 
definition of Deity's omnipotence is this, viz., that it is 
power to do anything physical that does not contradict moral 
force (he means theological force). Again he asserts that 



SINGULAR DEFINITION OF OMNIPOTENCE. 207 



omnipotence is 66 Power to do anything merely physical." 
" What," he asks, "is the very definition of omnipotence?" 
and replies that it is " Power to do anything in the world, 
" anything in the universe ; except what contradicts the 
" MORAL laws that holiness has laid down." 

Here are two theological terms used, viz., " moral" and 
" holiness," both employed as usual in that absolute sense 
that transcends all human consciousness. The separation of 
moral from physical force, is that division of natural from 
supernatural power that sacerdotalism revels in, and without 
which it is unable to move a single step. 

At page 318, we find " miracles" introduced to support this 
lecturer's peculiar views respecting omnipotence and conser- 
vation of force, and are informed that, — 

" There are instances constantly of God overriding and 
"reversing physical (natural?) laws; but there is not an 
" instance in the Bible of God overriding, reversing, or dis- 
" pensing with a moral (supernatural or theological ?) 
" law." 

In support of this hypothesis is adduced the case of king 
Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to burn three Jews who were 
heretics, infidels, and atheists, in relation to the golden 
theology of his majesty's state church. This, we are told, is 
an instance of Deity overriding a physical law. But is it 
really the case ? Miracles, or wonderful effects are confessedly 
superhuman, but not logically supernatural, and still less are 
they contra-natural. They are simply evidences of a great 
law, intermitting in its higher manifestations or modes, and 
in no sense whatever are they proof of any overriding or 
outraging of natural processes. Nothing is invariable but 
those conditions of one self-existence that are manifested in 
their relationship to another self-existence, force and matter. 
The revelation of this relationship of one self-existence 
to the other, is derived by the human mind from those 
uniform processes called laws. Now laws are either manifes- 
tations of the energy of Deity, or they are not. If they are 
not, then natural processes, called by theologians " merely 
" physical laws," may not be wholly divine, but the devil 



208 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



(whoever he may represent) may have had a hand in 
generating natural force, and this hypothesis is for sacerdo- 
talists to formulate. But if all natural processes, called 
physical laws as aforesaid, are really and truly manifestations 
in their several modes of one omnipresent divine energy, it 
follows that every physical law must be a mode or form of 
one divine force ; so that to override or dispense with a 
physical, material, or natural process or law, is to override 
or outrage a divine law ; and since all divine law is theolo- 
gically parenthesized as a moral law, therefore to override or 
outrage physical law, is to override or dispense with moral 
law, which is theologically admitted to be impossible. 

Dr. dimming contends that there is no instance recorded 
in the Bible where God has overridden a moral law, such as 
love God and love your neighbour. 

To appreciate the proper bearings of this luminous argu- 
ment, it is necessary to bear in mind that the word "law" 
lias a widely different signification in theological literature to 
the unvarying sequence of cause and effect phenomenally 
revealed in natural processes. Sacerdotal law means a de- 
claratory code, implying primitive remedies for offences 
against its stipulations. Law in theology is the same as that 
system that obtains in human legislation, and amounts to 
a covenant between two contracting parties, the governor and 
the governed ; and where the upholder of law and order 
pursues offenders against his rule with condign punishment, 
not so much for reformation as for purposes of vengeance, 
blood for blood, eye for eye, blow for blow, tooth for tooth, 
life for life. Such law as this is suited for petulant, peevish, 
infantile intelligences, and there cannot be a doubt that where 
the community is not fitted for better legislation, they must 
just quietly submit to its Draconic quality ; and this was 
Moses' task for the Israelites under his tuition, for they were 
not intelligent enough for any wiser code. But Jesus of 
Nazareth taught that all theological evil should be ignored, 
and that sin should be treated as a physician would cure in- 
sanity of mind or body, by curative labours, by mutual for- 
bearance, mutual forgiveness of all offences and debts, 



MODERN COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE. 209 



together with unselfish co-operation in all necessary duties to be 
done, the sovereign lord or king in social life being in his 
high office the active and relative servant of the entire 
community. 

Dr. Cumming's idea respecting Deity never reversing 
the law of loving himself, or rendering assistance to his 
neighbour, has no common sense meaning in it whatever. 
At page 118 it is admitted that the priest's idea of evil in the 
universe may be a ridiculous misconcept, for it is said, 

" We wrangle with providence, complain of our position, 
" dispute about our dfficulties, and think the ways of God are 
" wrong. It is our ignorance that is dense, our impatience 
" that is fretful, our ways that are crooked." 

The lecturer speaks approvingly of Mr. M. F. Tupper's 
" Proverbial Philosophy," doubtless he remembers well the 
following lines in that extensively circulated work on 
proverbial small talk. 

" Man is proud of his mind, boasting that it giveth him 

" divinity (immortality ?) 
" Yet with all its powers it can originate nothing. 
" Can a man make matter ? And yet this would-be God, 

" thinketh to make mind, and form original idea — 
" We learn upon a hint, we find upon a clue, we yield an 

" hundred fold, but the great sower is analogy. 
" The eye cannot make light, nor the mind make spirit, 
" Therefore it is wise in man to name all novelty invention, 
" For it is to find out things that are (self-existent ?) not to 

" create the unexisting." 
How little Dr. Cumming understands the poesy of 
Hebrew, we learn from page 434, where he attempts to 
solve one of the riddles that abound in the old Hebrew 
prophets, by speculating in the following style upon a 
passage from Isaiah, where it is said, " The lion shall eat 
" straw like an ox." This is the Rev. Lecturer's comment 
thereon : — 

" The very dumb brutes will be restored, and be happy, 
" happy as they were in paradise. It is said in prophecy, 
e( the lion shall eat straw like an ox ; every animal in 

p 



210 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



" paradise was made graminiverous, and animals were not 
" made to eat one another." 

This astounding piece of natural history comes from a 
member of that theistical school, which jeers and hurls its 
invectives at the rival church of Rome, for indulging in the 
same blindly literal rendering of oriental imagery, in assert- 
ing that the earth moves around the sun. This erudite par- 
son asserts, that the carnivori were made in anticipation of 
what would come into the world — the fall, the wreck, the 
ruin of mankind. 

The carnivori made in anticipation of the first earthly 
angel's breach of the conditions of self-existence ! There is 
much talk about reconciling science with sacerdotal religion, 
but where, in the name of fortune, is the use of propagating 
such miserable perversion of truth as this? To carry out 
this extraordinary idea about the restoration of the dumb 
animals, by making all carnivori give up flesh-eating and turn 
vegetarians, would exhaust the power of the most imagina- 
tive of the human race. 

Nothing is easier for the rash writers who propose these 
ricketty theories, than to denounce those who satirize such 
idle words as scoffers and infidels, because they dare to deny 
what God has said. The answer is this, that the parsons 
who pen " stuff" like the foregoing, are responsible for the 
mischief they make in generating in men's minds a latent, 
deep, but inexpressible contempt for religion that is founded 
on theories, which they must know cannot possibly be true, 
which those who manufacture cannot explain, and moreover 
confess their total inability to comprehend themselves. 

" Conning 'em over to understand them, 
Although set down habnab at random." 

By way of carrying on hostilities under cover of a flag 
of truce, some folks think it a clever dodge to disarm satirical 
criticism by confessing their misdeeds, which amounts to 
nothing but an appeal ad misericordiam, to be allowed to 
continue playing out the farce. As witness this cry of 
peccavi, at page 342 : — 



SACERDOTAL IGNORANCE OF NATURAL LAW. 211 

"However little improved may be what I preach now, 
f( yet when I look back twenty years upon the notes of 
" what I then preached, I am amazed that any one listened 
" with pleasure to the very small talk I then uttered. One 
" feels growth in one's mind." 

This is really no apology for present outrages upon sense 
and decency; it says, in effect, that whereas in verdant youth 
the preacher indulged in retailing very small talk, he feels 
growth in his colloquial powers, and in consequence of in- 
creased force of voice and improvement in wind, he ventures 
into the wholesale business and talks big. Once his palaver 
was very small, now it has grown big ; but be that talk very 
big, or be it only very small, it is lamentably deficient in the 
spice of common sense ; ex. gr. } at page 112 we find the doctor 
confessing his utter inability to comprehend the law of pre- 
destination, or pre-ordained generation of the eternal parent, 
whose word has been predestined by him to become incarnate 
in a material form or mode of existence in the flux of time. 

The Essayist says, that he cannot understand how Chris- 
tians can be called to immortality before they come into the 
world ; and he confesses that he cannot reconcile God's 
sovereignty with human free will, and sees no use in 
attempting to do it. 

Sidropel in despair ! The doctor means to say that he 
cannot reconcile theological assumptioDS with Biblical state- 
ments. He does not see, or won't see, that the assumed 
knowledge of the absolute is the veil that darkens his per- 
ception. He does not see that all revelation in the Bible is 
conditional, and that this book does not per se supply those 
mental conditions that alone make its revelation comprehen- 
sible. Baron Bunsen says truly, 

"Divine truth when applied to definite human relations is 
" only true under conditions, and within the limits they 
" draw around it, but man, by reason of his egotism, is ever 
" striving to get free of all conditions." 

The assumed knowledge of the absolute and unconditioned, 
is the basis of all sacerdotal teaching, and since it pretends 
to teach mysteries, transcending human consciousness, it 

p 2 



212 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



outrages these conditional arrangements that have wisely 
been ordained, and which conditions require to be studied 
and obeyed to ensure progressive knowledge of truth. 

The Bible does not say that the human mind is free, it 
asserts that free will is self-will, and that self-will is the 
true Satan of Divine will. The Bible teaches that exist- 
ence is only given to be maintained under conditions which 
necessitate that everything shall be interdependent, and can 
exist only in relation of one thing to another. 

<e Nothing," says Bunsen in his tc Signs of the Times," 
" has been created (generated ?) and subsists as an end in 
" itself for its own sake, but every single thing lives in 
" relition to the whole, but that whole subsists only by the 
" free surrender of the individual for the common good." 

The express declaration in the Bible, is radically opposed 
to the theological assumption of man's free will. The con- 
dition of existence is, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 
" and him only shalt thou serve." The banishment of all 
governing necessity from mental conditions, to make room 
for the assumed free or unconditioned self-existence of the 
human mind, is the root of the mischief in sacerdotal theisms. 

It is false to say that Deity has bound nature fast in fate, 
and left free the human will. King Solomon controverts 
this with other lies of the serpent, and says, that in human 
affairs, the battle is not to the strong, nor the race to the 
swift, but that time and chance snatch the prizes, crowns, 
and champions' belts from the grasp of the gladiators in the 
great battle of life. Theologians correct Solomon in this in 
their conventional style of slip slop, and contend that the 
King means to say, that the battle and race are not 
(i always " to the strong and swift, and thus by the distor- 
tion of a sentence, or direct interpretation of a word, they 
go on forging false notes, and make the Bible maintain the 
very opposite of what it really teaches. s< Ye are all forgers 
ee of lies," said Job to his theistical friends, and physicians of 
no value for unhappy beings, are ye all. 

At page 447, Dr. Cumming contends that it is fatalism 
for a Mahometan to submit to inevitable destiny when he 



THEORIES OF FATALISM AND FREE WILL. 213 

sits down and says passively, " It is the will of Allah, God's 
" will be done." This resignation of the Moslem is said to 
be either the stillness of mental stagnation, the calmness of 
iron nerves, or the stupor of opium, and in short, anything 
you like to call it, but the pious resignation of the orthodox 
Christian, who patiently obeys the command of " Be still, 
ee and know that I am God." 

There is no clear definition given of this distinction 
between the submission to inevitable destiny of the orthodox 
Christian and that of the poor Mussulman. Neither is any 
explanation afforded of the discrepancy apparent between 
the orthodox parson's doctrine of free will and this Bible's 
injunction to submit and surrender that will to the inevitable 
fate pre-ordained by Deity. 

And now we arrive at Dr. Cumming's idea of what the 
human conscience is. At page 137, it is contended, that if 
religion is not made the law of the conscience, in addition to 
life in heart and intellect, it is but discordant noise ; but yet, 
before he has laid down this axiom, he speaks of con- 
scientious duty in the following style : — 

" — a religion that may seem to you at first blush a true 
€e and scriptural religion, namely, the religion of conscience. 
" But this religion is not the religion of God, and will not 
" endure. It is a powerful type of religion, and, in its place, 
" a form of it that we must respect. One always must 
" respect the man who is conscientious, even when he is 
t{ wrong." 

Further on he remarks : — 

" Now wherever there is the religion of conscience, its 
" whole leverage is terror, it drives to duty, it scares to what 
" is right, it torments you if you neglect to pray, it threatens 
" you if you fail in the least service, it is most repulsive, its 
" duties are drudgery, its service is slavery, it dreads the 
" devil, and fears not God ! It is not the religion of 
" Christ, it is not the religion that will endure." Then he 
asks, " What is the religion that will endure ? " 

The answer is an attempt at comparative theological 
anatomy that includes, in man's intellectual action, part of 



214 



TnE FALSE PROPHETS. 



his involuntary system, (thus,)—" the religion of the head, 

et with its roots in the intellect, the religion of the heart, 

" its roots striking down there also, the religion of the con- 
es J o 

" science, its law, its atmosphere, its motive power, but all 
" three inspired and taught by the Holy Spirit of God." 

The confusion of idea here is really ludicrous. First of 
all conscientious religion is damned, and then included with 
approbation in another scheme, because being tripartate, it 
may bear some analogy to trinity. Conscience is a state of 
the mind, and thus a breach of the conditions of mental 
health, tending to destroy its existence, is necessarily 
attended with pain or misery. Dr. Cumming calls this 
repulsive, terrorism, drugery, and what not. This is one of 
the effects of eating the fruit of theological evil. Mind is 
cut up into three departments, one of them is made the 
heart, wholly an involuntary organ, and then this is called 
the orthodox religion of Christ ! 

It is a stock objection of immaterial psychologists, against 
the teaching of phrenology, that the separation and classifi- 
cation into different groups of the organ of the mind is 
fallacious, because based upon what they call the professional 
prejudices of mere physiologists, whose anatomical pursuits 
are said to have led them astray. Nevertheless, as just 
witnessed, these immaterialists see no objection to the con- 
struction of a departmental theory of their own, which 
certainly has antiquity in its favour, if that is any recom- 
mendation, since we derive from antiquity the truly valuable 
suggestion f ancient Chinese savans, that the seat of human 

DO ' 

intelligence is to be found in man's viscera. Thus it is cus- 
tomary with the immaterialists to dissect human nature in 
their sermons into three lots, viz., head, heart, and con- 
science ; they urge that there may be three religions, one for 
each separate division, but that any one of the three taken 
singly, or even two together, are not genuine, the whole 
three must go together to constitute the orthodox faith. 
At page 442, is to be found the following definition of 
faith:— 

" Faith is to the Christian what sense is to a natural man, 



CONVENTIONAL IDEA OF RELIGION AND FAITH. 215 



te and the objects believed on, are as real to faith as the 
" objects seen and heard are to sense and hearing." 
And on the following page : — 

f( Nature has left us the faith (knowledge ?) that concludes 
ec in discoveries of science. Grace is ever ready to give us 
st the faith (knowledge ?) that is, the substance of things 
" hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 

As the above passages stand, they are direct evidence 
that knowledge and faith are not compared, but contrasted, 
as usual in theology ; for the character given to knowledge is 
that it consists of concepts derived from material or natural 
processes, testifying through the media of the senses to the 
judgment seat of the sensorial mirror of the mind, whereas 
faith is indeed admitted to be a matter that depends upon 
some evidence, but of absolute or supernatural things be- 
yond all sensational consciousness. There is, however, 
nothing said in the Bible to controvert the idea that faith, 
or the substance of realities not now clearly perceived, is 
other than actual knowledge obtained by the quickening of 
the perceptive and reflective faculties of the mind owing to 
the intelligence of the believer or seer being elevated above 
the ordinary standard by corresponding exaltation of the 
conditions of his existence, that is, by an elevation or 
change in his natural, not into a preternatural, condition. 

It was not in the fire, the whirlwind, or the earthquake, 
that Elijah perceived the message of Deity. It was as if 
the voice was uttered in a whisper, and thus it was not until 
his refined and elevated condition of intelligence was made 
to vibrate to the whisper of a " still small voice" that the 
listening and wondering prophet covered his face, and bowed 
his head in awe and reverence. 

At page 152, an answer is given to the question : — 

" What is salvation ? " It is, " Not the personal safety 
" of the believer, which is secured at his own death, but 
" the universal restitution of earth, soul, and body." 

The notion is, that the immaterial mind or soul being 
existent per se } and immortal, goes at once after death to 
some theological locality called heaven, leaving the body of 



216 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



dust behind it for some subsequent mysterious conjunction. 
So it is gravely stated, that when a Christian dies he goes 
to Christ, it is not Christ that comes to the believer. The 
term " Christ" here used, means Jesus of Nazareth, as if he 
individually had been the only revelation of the Anointed One 
in the Son of Man, and as if he continued to be the only 
individual son of the Universal Father, And this in defiance 
of the statement in the Bible, that as many men as are 
guided by the Spirit of God, they (that is, so many) are the 
sons (plural) of God. It requires to be borne in mind, that 
every important word or phrase used in this Bible has a 
different meaning in sacerdotal theism to that which it bears 
in secular vocabularies ; ex. gr., the term " Son" has various 
meanings in theology, all more or less differing, like a 
Chinese character, according to its position in the scale of 
sacred writings ; secularly, however, " Son" has only one 
meaning. 

At page 191, an explanation is offered of the metaphorical 
expression — " The dead that sleep in Christ." It is said, 
" This refers to the dead dust that is laid in the grave." 

The apostle, however, does not say so; this is only our 
eminent Greek scholar's rendering into the vernacular of a 
dubious phrase. The passage apparently alludes to the 
temporary withdrawal from human consciousness of men 
supposed to be dead, but who are, in relation to mundane 
affairs, as if in a condition analogous to hybernation or sleep. 
The actual dead have perished, for there is no living Father 
of dead children ; the living sons are not dead, they are 
actually living, though in relation to human conditions as 
though they were dead. 

At page 241, there is recorded the Rev. Lecturer's wish 
that he could think that the souls of the lost are annihilated, 
and the question is there asked : — 

"What is the opposite of everlasting life ?" The reply 
given by the essayist, for self and brother parsons, is, 
" Everlasting punishment." 

He admits that the proper antithesis of everlasting life 
would be everlasting annihilation ; but theologians practically 



NOVEL THEORIES OF ETERNAL LIFE AND DEATH. 217 

argue that they have nothing to do with proper or logical 
antithesis, and thus it happens that Dr. Cumming comes to 
the conclusion, that as everlasting life is not everlasting life 
in the plain and simple, or popular acceptation of the term, 
it must be a higlier type than human life, which is mortal 
life, and so because it is a higher type than human or mortal 
life, it is a holier and happier existence, that is to say, it is 
an existence with happiness attached; consequently ever- 
lasting life is everlasting happiness, and the theologically 
proper antithesis of this is everlasting punishment. This 
may be logic in theology, but it is not exactly according to 
the rules of common sense logic, where misery and not 
punishment is the opposite of happiness, neither is an attach- 
ment synonymous with a reward. Ask a child not trained 
to shirk the answer, and he would say that the opposite of 
everlasting life is everlasting death. 

If the question had been, " What is the antithesis of 
" eternal reward?" then the proper logical reply would 
undoubtedly be eternal punishment. 

But it happens unfortunately for sacerdotalism, that 
eternal life is not a reward at all, it is a " free gift," which 
cannot be a reward in any sense, and therefore as there is no 
eternal reward, neither can there by any possibility be 
eternal punishment. The dogma of theological responsibility, 
with its accompanying reward and punishment, is part of 
the original catechism of good and evil presented by the 
serpent-priest to Adam and Eve. 

The terms happiness and misery are merely qualities or 
adjectives, and not noun-substantive realities of self-existent 
entities. 

The Bible declares positively, " The soul that sinneth it 
" shall die." 

Dr. Cumming, as usual, shuffles the pea under the sacer- 
dotal thimbles and says, vide page 227. " But the soul that 
" sins shall not die for ever ! ! " 

The Doctor should give his authority for flatly contra- 
dicting plain scriptural statements, for it might eventually 
be demonstrated that he possessed a divine mission or 



218 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



diploma to supersede former messengers, and establish a new 
theistical system. The new faith would be, " There are 
" three Gods in one, of whom Dr. Cumming is the prophet." 
This would inevitably put the extinguisher upon Mahomet*- 
anism for ever. 

At page 224, the lecturer maintains that eternal punish- 
ment is demanded by God's eternal justice, and he says: — 

" God is not that Lucretian Deity, all love, all goodness, 
" but he is holy, just, faithful, and true; and if escape from 
" such suffering should be incompatible with his justice, it is 
(t vain to plead that such punishment conflicts with his 
" goodness." 

Again, he says, <f God's truth is concerned in this." 
That is, in maintaining the accusing angeVs demand for 
eternal punishment. He says: — 

<f If it were not so, God would prove unfaithful to his 
* threats." 

This comes from a parson who explains away the plainest 
threat of all, that if a man commits a breach of the con- 
ditions of existence, or sins, he shall die, and who forges the 
words " not," and " for ever," to explain away the express 
warning of the messenger of Deity, making the sentence 
" shall die," read " shall not die for ever!" 

Dr. Cumming says, that Deity is not all love, all goodness, 
but is a vengeance-breathing, revenge-harbouring, punishing 
being, and this in defiance of that special revelation of his 
attributes to Moses where he is described as being " merci- 
" ful, gracious, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping 
" mercy for thousands, and forgiving iniquity, transgression, 
c< and sin." 

There is not a hint about theological or eternal punish- 
ment. When any punishment is alluded to, it is limited to 
natural ills, or diseases transmitted from sire to sons and 
grandsons, but all such punishment is confined to the dura- 
tion of mortal or human life. The sins of the fathers are 
transmitted by hereditary natural taint to their offspring, 
the dead are released from further ills of life, and are not 
pursued into another world ; the ill or punishment alluded to 



THEOLOGICAL IDEA OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF DEITY. 219 

is visited upon the children and grandchildren in this world, 
not the dead in the next. 

Dr. Gumming adds that God's justice demands never^ 
ending punishment for sin, and such punishment, be it noted, 
not for reformation of the criminal, but solely as a vengeance- 
bringing measure. 

To talk about God's justice is tantamount to constituting 
Him a judge of theological good and evil. But we are told in 
the Bible that God judges no man, but has delegated this 
office of judge to the Son of Man. To be a judge of 
humanity, Deity would have to lay aside his eternal and un- 
ceasing action of generator and lord of life, to become a 
prosecutor or condemnatory judge to death. The devil, or 
accusing man, however, is prosecutor ; the Son of Man is 
judge, not the absolute Father at all, save and except in 
so far as he is related to this Son of Man, in whom he is to 
mankind negatively revealed. 

At page 255 we have the lecturer's idea of the resurrec- 
tion, — 

" It would be a very sad thing that this body of ours, this 
" wonderful mechanism should be yielded to the devil, (?) 
fS and though Christ has redeemed the soul, Satan should 
" have ruined the body." 

As the power of Satan is that of death, and not the 
generating parent of life, it is not easy to understand what 
Satan would or could do with a dead carcase when he had got 
possession of it. By the way, though, he might canonize it, 
and make it an idol or saint ! Then the Doctor says that he 
does not believe that a single soul will be lost because of 
Adam's sin, and believes that Satan will not be able to quote 
for ever, as a trophy of his success, the ruin of the body. 

The argument at page 258 is continued thus, — 

" I look for the resurrection of the body as designed 
<c to perpetuate the human race. If souls only are admitted 
" into heaven they would be angels, but soul and body con- 
" stitute man." 

Nowhere does the Bible say that angels are disembodied or 
immaterial ghosts, nowhere does that book say that im- 



220 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



I 



material or preternatural beings inhabit the universe. The 
kingdom or condition of heaven is to be within men upon 
earth ; that is, in constituting men elevated orders or modes 
of intelligent beings, by elevating and ennobling the natural 
conditions of their existence. 

The next page, 259, furnishes a novel idea respecting the 
sacerdotal importance attached to water baptism, applied by 
man to his fellow mortals. We are here told that, — 

" The name given you in baptism will be heard as an 
" under tone in the sound of the resurrection trumpet." 

This intimation is indeed of vast importance, if true ; and 
it ought to be clearly and incontcstibly substantiated, inas- 
much as it makes the rite of water baptism the modus 
operandi of generating life. 

At page 265 the learned Doctor sits in judgment upon 
Deity himself, and, by implication, condemns him off-hand, 
saying, — If mortality be man's destiny, God must be a cruel 
monster. The precise words used are as follows, — 

" If such be the end of you and me, the Being that made 
" us must be a cruel monster." 

This speech is surely as windy as it is rash. Words, 
reverend sir, words, windy, very windy words, puffed out of 
wind bag blown out to bursting, words as dry and dusty as 
dead sea apples, giving not one drop of cooling juice to 
refresh the dry and parched lips of the thirsty traveller 
seeking knowledge in this dreary wilderness of talk. 

The following statement is recorded on page 307, — 

"Every allusion in the Bible leads us to the conclusion 
i( that the overwhelming majority of our race shall be saved. 
" Infants dvino; shall be saved." 

Every allusion is prave'orts, such brave words indeed as 
are very difficult, nay, impossible to be found. The warning 
given by Jesus is wholly ignored, namely, that the way 
to immortality was very narrow, and that very few ever 
found it, whereas the road to destruction (or annihilation ?) 
was broad and smooth, and that many found and journeyed 
along it. Again, if the righteous hardly be saved, what shall 
become of the ungodly. 



PERVERSION OF THE SENSE OF SCRIPTURE. 221 
At page 324, it is said, — 

" I do not think that there is a text in the Bible warning 
" man by the prospect of death, or bidding man to look to 
" death, or directing him to death." 

That unfortunate text, cobbled, soled, and heeled, by this 
neat repairer of worn out Biblical statements, has here been 
smothered altogether, — The soul that sins shall die." The 
texts in this Bible are unanimous in asking men to turn from 
their self-willed breaches of wise conditions and live ; for God 
does not desire that they should perish, but rather that they 
should turn, and by studying and keeping his wisely-ordained 
conditions of existence, abandon their egotistical self-will and 
live. 

At page 351, occurs a running comment upon the first 
eight verses of the fifth chapter of Paul's second letter 
to his Corinthian converts. It is to the effect that death, in 
sacerdotal glossaries, means putting off the garment of the 
immaterial soul ; and that death is disrobing that part of man 
that is not of himself, but only the clothes of the individual. 

At the same time it is confessed that the language is 
metaphorical, and by implication is ambiguous, still the above 
is supposed to be the correct rendering of the writer's mean- 
ing. 

The following page, 252, continues the argument thus, — 
" The existence of the soul therefore is not bound up with 
" the existence of the body ; it may be an advantage to the 
" soul ! We know it will be so in future : it is necessary now, 
" but in future, after the resurrection it will not only be 
<c necessary, but useful and ornamental ! But we can 
" conceive what we are sure of from scripture, that the soul 
" can exist apart from the body. 

" Soul and body may be disintegrated and divorced, and 
<( yet life not destroyed, their connection is a contingency, not 
* an absolute and inevitable necessity. It is very true, and 
" there is no doubt of this, that our present existence is such 
" that we cannot feel the possibility of the soul existing 
4< separate from the body, they are so linked together, the 
" power of one so interpenetrates with the functions of the 



222 



THE FALSE PPOPHETS. 



•* other that we cannot from present experience realize the 
" possibility of the soul existing separate from the body." 

Now here the existence of the human mind or soul as an 
entity per se, apart from and opposed to a material organiza- 
tion, is confessedly a fact that transcends human conscious- 
ness. The conception of preter or supernatural existence is 
derived entirely from sacerdotal and metaphysical barren 
abstract speculation. Where it is that the Bible says that 
the human mind can exist apart from the body the lecturer 
sayeth not. In one sentence it is said that man can conceive 
the separate existence of mind and body, and in another it is 
gravely asserted that man cannot realize or feel, from natural 
evidence, any such preternatural monstrosity. 

The lecture is thus continued, — 

ec The body has no life per sc. When the soul goes the 
" body ceases to live ; but it does not follow that the soul 
" ceases to live, the soul is independent of the body. 

"In present life, the body although only an instrument 
" does colour all the decisions, feelings, thoughts, and actions 
" of the soul. The body is so far the exponent of what the 
M mind thinks that the will resolves what the mind feels." 

The priests assert that man is immortal because he thinks; 
thus postulating mind as a self-existent absolute entity. 
Man, say the priests, is immortal because he exists as the image 
of God, who in turn is hypothesized as a solitary uncaused 
immaterial mind, whose existence precludes the possibility of 
any other being but this mind. This, however, is plainly con- 
tradicted by the evidence of natural phenomena, which prove 
clearly that there must necessarily be two, not one, uncaused 
self-existence, and that the union of these two is essential for 
the generation of everything ; which universe or whole of 
everything constitutes the phenomenal revelation of material 
nature known to mind, mental manifestations being in their 
turn only reflex actions, or reflections of phenomenal effects. 
Therefore the absolute separate existence of either primary, 
self-existent, uncaused parent, be it imponderable force or 
matter, cannot be revealed to the human mind. And man, as 
the offspring, by the interaction of two great primary un- 



POSTULATED IMMATERIALITY OF MIND. 223 



caused self-existences, must necessarily have a material as 
well as an immaterial constitution. But as he knows that on 
the side of his maternal parent he inherits incessant change 
and final death, he tries to ignore his maternal, and acknow- 
ledge only one paternal cause of mind, shutting out the 
possibility of any material self-existence of any kind. He 
makes his mother an existence designed out of nothing, 
fabricated too by an existence totally opposed to it in every 
way, so that a self-existence, that had nothing in common, or 
was actually opposed to another existence, designs, fabricates, 
creates, constructs, manufactures, this other existence out of 
itself, or out of nothing, and it is hard to say which hypothesis 
is the most outrageously absurd or revolting to healthy, 
logical, and natural sense. 

Deity, as a self-existent, immaterial breath, never was re- 
vealed to any man, and such revelation is absolutely 
impossible, for to demonstrate such an existence it would be 
necessary first to destroy another self-existence, that of 
matter. In the same way matter, as self- existence, is im- 
possible to be revealed, for to make it, would necessitate the 
annihilation of imponderable force, by relation to which 
alone is it cognisable. 

Then follows a curious comment upon the apostle 
Paul's declaration, that he found his own self-will, or incli- 
nation, antagonistic to the will of the eternal prepurposer. 
Paul says, that he found a law in his members, warring 
against that better nature or higher condition of being that 
he had inherited as an heir of the paternal estate of 
eternal life. The gloss or interpretation put upon this 
saying, is to the effect, that the apostle found a law in his 
arms, legs, and involuntary organs warring against his 
mind. If this rendering of the Greek text be strictly 
correct, than the apostle must have been a lusus natures or 
monstrosity, and, therefore, altogether out of the argu- 
ment. 

At page 357 we are presented with a theological notion 
that for originality in conception, and absurdity in its rela- 
tion to all known natural phenomena, is, beyond anything 



224 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



yet discovered in this " Great Tribulation," astonishing and 
perplexing. The idea is this : — 

" It matters not where the body is deposited, for every atom 
" of its dust is in the keeping of the Son of God." 

On the following page this singular theory is further 
discussed. 

" It (the body) is raised not a spirit, but a spiritual body, 
" and yet it is the very dead dust, laid in the grave." 

The lecturer will doubtless recollect the proverb, that every 
prophet or writer, instructed in the science of eternal life, 
called the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder who brings 
out of his stock, for the edification of admiring friends treasures 
that are both new and old. In this case, however, the goods 
handed out for inspection are very old clo' indeed, nothing more 
modern in fact than very ancient Egyptian sacerdotalisms. 

The logical result of this extraordinary adaptation of 
Egyptianism to modern theology, is, as might have been 
foreseen, as difficult to comprehend as it is outrageous in 
conception. For speaking of this dead body of dust, we 
are told tlvat, " every atom " is in keeping of Christ (Jesus 
of Nazareth?) " as closely watched, as thoroughly taken care 
" of, as if it were already glorified." 

This is something new certainly, but it wants reliable and 
incontestible evidence to substantiate the positive truth of it. 
At page 370 the unlearned are requested to take note, that 
the author's philological studies have enabled him to come to 
the conclusion that the word " resurrection " being a com- 
pound one, derived from the two words, re and surgo, means 
literally, "rising again." The following exegesis on the 
resurrection is then attempted. 

" If the bodies of all believers are not raised, but new 
" bodies are created, then the language is misapplied ; it 
" would not be a resurrection, it would be a new creation 
" (theological creation ?) It is no mystery at all to give us 
" new bodies, but it is a mystery that our dead bodies should 
" be quickened with new life. All science leads us to the 
" conclusion; that the resurrection is possible, nothing is 
" annihilated, only changed." 



HYPOTHESES OF MAN'S REGENERATION. 225 



What science teaches this metaphysical mysticism? It 
happens, most unfortunately for sacerdotalism, that the 
change of condition alluded to above involves the final 
annihilation of man, as he exists under present conditional 
arrangements. The word creation, in theology, means con- 
struction of everything out of nothing. In science, creation 
means generation, and requires two self-existences to 
originate the flux of organic life in nature. Regeneration in 
theology means recreation, in science it means a second 
birth, or that birth from the womb of material process or 
gestation, that confines man within the limits of certain con- 
ditions analogous to foetal life. 

The modern theories of regeneration are in all respects 
the same as the one of old, taught by the Jewish Rabbis in 
the days of Nicodemus, which meant washing an immaterial 
spirit from the stain or defilement of original sin, with which 
the soul was infected as an hereditary disease or taint from 
Adam's transgression. 

But Adam's breach cannot affect man in the theological 
sense ascribed.. Its effect was to deprive man, for the time, of 
the mediatorial and connecting link between man and Deity, 
and until the broken link was restored by another personal 
mediator, there was no representative of the eternal Father 
in the Son of Man, to quicken by his vitality the other 
children predestined to share the same estate of eternal life. 

It is contended that the analogies of the butterfly emerg- 
ing from the chrysalis, and of seeds shooting up from the 
ground, are not correct illustrations of man's relation to that 
elevated material condition that is necessary for immortal 
life. Granted; they are defective, and the only incontes- 
table evidence is by revelation of living representatives of 
the eternal in man himself. This is the revelation of God 
in the Bible, and no other, and there is not an instance 
recorded where any other revelation has been given, save in 
that dual form of existence that is constituted by the union 
of two self-existent entities in one personality ; the person- 
ality of the Son, which sonship is in man himself. Moses' 
shell of dust was found, but the living man, both body and 

Q 



226 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



spirit was revealed as one existence at a subsequent period. 
Every natural condition of existence is distorted by the 
ingenuity of immaterial speculators, who, by confounding 
the merely phenomenal mind of man with the great self- 
existence power of Deity, have led their pupils into a 
labyrinth of blind alleys that deranges their minds in the 
effort to thread its metaphysical mazes. 

The only safe issue out of this interminable debate, is to 
leave the proofs of immortality to reliable material evidences, 
which we may rest assured will be forthcoming in due and 
appointed time, if men will patiently submit to study those 
conditions of life that are given for their education and 
advancement here. 

At page 373, the reader is presented with the following 
most extraordinary explanation of the apostle Paul's state- 
ment in the third chapter of his letter to the Philippians, 
where he speaks, in the second verse, " If by any means I 
" might attain to the resurrection of the dead." 

Dr. Cumming asserts that the language of the apostle is 
very emphatic and peculiar, and he asks, " Why, how could 
" he escape it ? " This is richly instructive. The apostle 
hopes that he may by any means attain to the resurrection of 
the dead, and this modern prophet says, why, how could he 
escape it ? 

" We have just heard, (that is from theologians,) that all 
" rise, the just and the unjust. The greatest criminal and 
" the greatest saint shall equally rise from the dead in resur- 
(e rection bodies. Then what does the apostle mean when 
(i he says, ( If by any means I might attain to the resurrec- 
" c tion of the dead? ' The only way in which we (theolo- 
" gians ?) can explain it, (that is, explain it away ?) is by 
" the supposition, or rather by the historical statement, 
" — impugned by some, but I think unequivocally established 
" by others — that the resurrection, while it is of the just 
" and unjust, yet implies an interval between the resurrec- 
" tion of the just, and the resurrection of the unjust. In 
" other words it can only be explained (away ?) I conceive 
" by admitting, what I cannot escape on impartial reading 



POSTULATED TWO RESURRECTIONS OF THE DEAD. 227 

<c (and misunderstanding ?) the scripture, that there is a first 
" resurrection, consisting exclusively of the just, and that 
" there is also a second resurrection, consisting exclusively of 
" the unjust." 

This truly ingenious process of twisting a supposition 
into an incontrovertible historical statement, is attempted to 
be justified by the language employed in the twentieth 
chapter of the Apocalypse of John, a book that has been 
made the putative father of an immense tribe of bastard 
theological and prophetical bantlings. 

Admitting that two pictures of the resurrection are here 
drawn upon the same piece of canvas, it is unfortunate for 
the reverend lecturer's hypothesis, that whereas the first 
is rising again to eternal life, the second is styled rising 
from one death to a second death, and not rising again to 
second life. The first resurrection is the actual and 
positive, the second is only negative. The first is an abso- 
lute fact, the second is not, unless indeed second death means 
second life, or unless two deaths constitute one life. The 
second picture of the resurrection is introduced to strengthen 
the positive character of the first by its antithetical and 
negative quality, it supports an affirmative argument by for- 
mulating the method of contradictions as used in logic. 

Dr. Cumming proceeds to argue, that from a very careful 
analytical study and critical rummage of the Greek text of 
the New Testament in the records of Luke, and John, he 
must conclude, that the resurrection of the dead is emphati- 
cally the special or distinctive rising again of the just only, 
and since Paul would certainly know this fact very well, 
there is no reason why he should have doubted it, unless 
there were two resurrections, the first of which being the 
special one, limited to those who are accounted worthy to 
attain to it, Paul might not attain to, whereas the last, he 
could not escape from. 

The apostle, he says, was sure of one, but not the right 
one, and it was his fear of not obtaining the first that led 
him to speak of an uncertainty of attaining to any resurrec- 
tion at all. 

Q 2 



228 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



Now this is a remarkable and instructive example of the 
vicious custom of daubing; the Bible over with the untem- 
pered mortar of theological traditions, that leads so many- 
folks astray. To make Paul speak of not attaining to one 
of two resurrections, when he distinctly speaks emphatically 
of the only one that he knew of is a gross outrage upon 
logical sense. There can be no reasonable doubt whatever, 
that the language used by the writers in the gospels, con- 
veys the idea that the resurrection of the dead is a special 
one limited to those called the just; but the debatable 
point for demonstration is this : how does the establishment 
of one rising again, lead by logical inference to the fact of 
there being another? The reference to the apocalyptic 
picture is not a fortunate one for the hypothesis of two. 
The first resurrection is that special one spoken of in the 
gospels, but the second is rising to the "second death" If 
second death means theological life, then the question is, 
what is this life? It may be said, immaterial fire, then it is 
for sacerdotalists to push as many as they can into it, for it is 
only the theological accuser's office to pronounce sentence of 
eternal damnation, of vengeance in hell fire. Deity neither 
accuses nor condemns any one, he can be no judge of that 
evil which he is said to be of purer eyes than to recognize. 

At page 385, there is an attempt to philosophize in the 
following fashion: — 

" It is really, I have sometimes thought, an interesting 
" inquiry, a thought I leave others to consider, whether the 
iS resurrection of the body does not in some degree begin in 
" the case of a believer, even in the present world. The 
" moment that a man's SOUL is regenerated, Scripture 
" teaches us that a present process begins in the central seat 
" of man, which will radiate outwards, and uninterrupted by 
" decay in the grave, it (which?) will continue till the 
" trumpet sounds, and the body rises immortal." 

What is meant by regeneration of the immaterial soul ? 
The soul of man is the combustion of a magnetico-electric 
substance, called by Solomon the candle of the Lord ; the 
imponderable spirit of Deity's omnipotence surely does not 



THEOLOGICAL PERVERSION OF BIBLICAL DOCTRINE 



229 



need regeneration, because being necessarily self-existent 
it never was generated, and if it never was generated, it 
cannot be EE-Generated. 

Dr. Gumming professes to find warrant for these random 
concepts in Jesus' declaration, that if a man received his 
authority as the commissioned messenger of the eternal to 
quicken him to conscious relationship of being a child of the 
same paternal existence, he, the believer, so regenerated 
into this relationship of son to Father, should in that great 
duality never die, but is then and there re-born from ephe- 
meral or embryotic into immortal life. The thought that 
Dr. Gumming leaves to others must be taken up by better 
trained exponents of eternal verities, and the hireling shep- 
herds of the flock must be shewn that they have grievously 
mistaken their calling, and by their substitution for nourish- 
ing food, of the Dead Sea apples of the serpent's catechism of 
theological good and evil, bring the Bible which they 
profess to reverence into discredit, and make the sublimest 
philosophy in existence as " weary as a thrice told tale to the 
" tired ears of a dull and drowsy man." 

At page 431, is to be found the following exposition of 
Zechariah's prophecy respecting the character, office, and 
personality of the final Messiah, or messenger of judgment. 

This is from the sixth chapter and thirteenth verse of 
Zechariah's witness. 

" He shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a 
" priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be 
cc between them both." 

The following is Dr. Cumming's comment on this 
prophecy : — 

" I argue from this, that it is impossible there could be 
" peace between heaven and earth ; in other words, it is 
" impossible there could be salvation except through Christ 
" as a priest on his throne or king by the altar, or priest 
" and king in one ; for two things are required for salvation, 
" that God see no obstacle to the going forth of his pardon, 
" and secondly, that man be willing, on God's terms, to 
" accept God's way of pardon, happiness, and peace, a 



230 



THE FALSE PROPHETS. 



" double work, a work without man in reference to God, 
" or within man which is a royal and kingly act, and thus 
" the counsel of peace, or in the more proper (theological ?) 
" phrase ( salvation,' can only be accomplished by them 
" (persons, or acts?) both. Christ the priest offers up 
ft sacrifice, and expiates guilt, pronounces a blessing ; Christ 
" as a king rescues from his enemies, and subdues us to 
" himself/ 

This is a very fair average sample of the bulk of modern 
platitudinary twaddle respecting Hebrew prophecy that 
speaks of the last days. 

The statement cannot possibly have any special reference 
to Jesus of Nazareth, because it speaks of the Messiah here 
as being the branch, that is to say, as explained further on, 
not one light as if set up in a candlestick, but a branch or 
candelabrum of two lights. The branch is not one Christ, or 
one anointed messenger, but it is distinctly said to consist of 
two anointed ones, or two in one Christ. The first wit- 
nesses or angels of God upon earth were two, that is, man 
and wife, Adam and Eve ; and the concluding book, or the 
Apocalypse, speaks of the restoration of divine witness being 
delegated to two witnesses the same as at first. In fact, the 
divine symbol is not perfect without this relationship of 
husband and w T ife. 

In the 3rd chapter, one of these two witnesses constituting 
the branch is described as a man, who before his call and 
anointing is clothed in filthy garments, and from the fact of 
his requiring a new head piece and change of raiment, it 
seems plainly to allude to such a change of condition as that 
referred to by Jesus of Nazareth in his parable of the return 
of the prodigal son. The angel of the Lord says to this 
anointed king, I have caused thy iniquity to pass from thee. 
If conventional interpreters of prophecy can find anything 
said about Jesus of Nazareth's iniquity, they should point it 
out in the chapter and verse style they are so proficient in. 

There is some fearful blunder in reference to conventional 
interpretation of the coming Messiah, that deserves looking 
into to have it rectified, for the promises to the final Messiah 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 



231 



are to this witness of God, and to his seed or children for 
ever; and since Jesus of Nazareth left no seed it cannot 
refer to him specially. The promise to the Messiah is to 
this effect: — 

" My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I 
" have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, 
" nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of 
" thy seed's seed, from henceforth and for ever." 

Modern theologians say, that this refers to a nation 
generally, and not to any individual specially. The doctors, 
proctors, and scribes of the Hebrew Scriptures, made similar 
blunders with reference to Jesus of Nazareth, but he, when 
a mere child, bothered the wits of the entire conclave. 

Again, with reference to the appearance of the final 
Messiah as the messenger of judgment upon the serpent's 
offspring, and their sacerdotal fruit of the tree of theological 
good and evil, it seems that the Reverend lecturer sets down 
the year 1867 as the period predestined to usher in the 
advent of Christ. 

If this could be any way foretold by man, then some few 
folks at all events would be watchfully on the look out to 
give the alarm, and the Scripture could not be fulfilled which 
has said, " As a thief in the night shall it come to e all' 
" that are upon the face of the earth." 

" If the master of the house had known what hour the 
" thief would have come, he would have watched," said 
Jesus, and in another parable he likens the advent of the 
messenger of judgment to the bridegroom coming suddenly 
upon the slumbering people in the dead of the night. 



232 



CHAPTER X. 

MODERN TYRE. 

If critical analysis of Dr. Cumming's reading of biblical 
theism demonstrates the fact that his views are loose, 
illogical, and self contradictory, so in like manner will the 
truth be made apparent, that his published interpretation of 
ancient Hebrew prophecy or poesy, does not warrant that 
favourable opinion respecting its bearing upon the vaticina- 
tion of coming events, that a considerable portion of the 
reading public have formed of it. In addition to the book 
entitled " The Great Tribulation coming upon the Earth," 
the public have extensively partaken of another dainty dish, 
ycleped " Redemption Draweth Nigh," in which appear 
several remarkable statements. In reference to Great 
Britain, Dr. Cumming never hesitates, in all his published 
works, lectures, and speeches, or sermons, to predict for her 
a safe passage through all those mighty tribulations and 
catastrophes that are to befall other nations. In support of 
this view of the future, the Rev. Mr. Chamberlain's interpre- 
tation is accepted, which would serve to indicate that the 
prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel point to Great Britain as 
instrumental in bringing about the restoration of the 
Israelites to Palestine. 

Well then, accepting this reading as correct, which inter- 
prets the ships of Tarshish to mean the naval glory of 
England, it follows that Tyre must be typical of this same 
maritime power of great Britain, and if that be so, it will be 
found that upon this interpretation the conclusions arrived 



EMPIRE OF THE MERCHANT PRINCES. 



233 



at by Dr. Gumming, and those who agree with him, are as 
wide of the target of truth, as if these expounders of the 
prophecy had turned their backs upon the mark when they 
fired their great theological blunderbusses at it ; for if the 
ships of Tarshish alluded to by the ancient Hebrew seers do 
actually indicate in prognostic poesy the navy of Great 
Britain, then how can Dr. Gumming and others continue 
blind to the startling fact, that not one, but all the prophets 
cry woe and desolation to these ships, or the navy of 
Tarshish, and predict ruin and dispersion to the commercial 
empire of Tyre, to which the aforesaid ships of Tarshish 
belong. 

It is acknowledged that the predicted judgment upon 
Tyre, pronounced by the prophet " Isaiah" in the twenty- 
third chapter, was never fulfilled, that is to say, it was not 
carried out against ancient Tyre, but it may yet prove true 
of a great commercial empire of which the former Tyre 
served the Hebrew seer as a type. 

Isaiah apostrophises this great maritime power in a very 
remarkable way, his burden of woe against Tyre is com- 
menced with : — 

" Howl ye ships of Tarshish, for it is laid waste, so that 
" there is no house, (or harbour of refuge,) no entering in." 

What is this mysterious blow that is to shake to pieces 
the dockyards, arsenals, and forts of these ships ? The answer 
is, that the (Edipus to riddle the Sphinx is to come from 
Chittim to reveal this mischief to them. Now the land of 
Chittim is the land of golden rocks, where these rocks are 
bruised or pounded, and thus Chittim stands for either 
Australia or California. 

We are told that the destruction of this fortress is to be 
analogous to some ancient and now overlooked or buried 
historical event that took place in "Egypt;" of this more, 
shortly, meantime the prophet's statements in this chapter 
require very careful attention. He asks : — 

" Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crown- 
" ing city, whose 6 merchant princes? and traders are the 
" honourable of the earth ?" and he answers, that the Lord 



234 



MODERN TYRE. 



of Hosts has purposed, or predestined this disaster, to defile 
the pride of all human glory, and bring into contempt all 
held in esteem for titles and wealth by men. 

It is emphatically stated, that the ruin of this empire 
comes through and by the very means relied upon so confi- 
dently for security, that is, its insular position. This enigma 
is shadowed forth in the fourth and repeated in the eleventh 
verse, where it is said : — 

" He stretched out his hand over (through and under ?) 
ff the f sea,' he shook the kingdoms. The Lord hath given a 
" commandment concerning this merchant (empire ?) to 
" destroy the strengths (strongholds or fortresses ?) thereof." 

The people of this nation, typified by ancient Tyre, are, 
it is plain, islanders, and not as continental people, for more 
than once their insular position is spoken of. 

When the tenth chapter is read it may be found that the 
prophet declares that the rod of the Almighty's anger and 
indignation, is placed in the hand of one who is likened to a 
scatterer, or disperser, and who is sent as a messenger of 
destruction against a certain " hypocritical nation," or the 
people whose pharisaic cant has excited God's wrath. The 
seer or prophet says, that an especial charge is given to this 
scattering chief or monarch, to plunder the nation against 
whom he is sent. The words are, " Take the spoil, and take 
" the prey, and tread them down like the mire in the 
" streets." In the twenty-fourth verse the same riddle of 
this Sphinx is repeated that is to be found in the twenty- 
third chapter just quoted, namely, that the rod of affliction 
is to be used after the manner of Egypt, 

The fourth and fifth verses of the ninth, and the twenty- 
sixth and twenty-seventh verses of the tenth chapter, relate 
to the ultimate miraculous overthrow of the invading hosts, 
by the instrumentality of Messiah's obedience to the will of 
the great eternal Father and pre-purposer. 

Not one, but all the prophets have something to say on 
this subject, or those momentous events ushering in the 
advent of the seventh and final Messiah. For instance, 
Jeremiah when he speaks of these last days makes especial 



COMMERCIAL CITY OF EPHRAIM'S DESCENDANTS. 235 

mention of the descendants of "Ephraim," and when he 
alludes to " Tyrus," or the great commercial empire of which 
ancient Tyre was typical, he asserts that the charge of de- 
struction is directed against her " sea shore," and he describes 
the destroying messengers coming with spreading wings like 
an eagle, in fact, the eagles are their standards. The 
fortress, (says he,) alluding to some particular place, is taken, 
the strongholds are surprised, the soldiers hearts' in great 
trouble and pain, because a " fire and explosive flame," that 
is gunpowder, have burst out of the " midst of the land," 
and burnt up the covering, protecting, or defending armour 
of the naval and military authorities. 

In the fifty-first chapter the prophet Jeremiah takes 
" Babylon" as a type of the great metropolis of the descen- 
dants of Ephraim, and apostrophises, by his faculty of second 
sight or prophecy, this Babylon in the following terms : — 

" O thou that dwellest upon many waters (an insular 
" position) having abundant treasures, thine end is come, and 
" the measure of thy covetousness." 

The citizens, he says, shall roar like lions, (British lions,) 
and shall shake themselves like lion's whelps, for the sea 
(Sphinx again) is come up upon Babylon, and she is covered 
with the waves thereof. The solution of this enigma of the 
turning of her sea defences, is that her sea is dried up, 
(undermined ?) The houses are burnt, and the fortifications 
or bars are destroyed. One post shall fly to meet another 
message to show to the monarch of this island maritime 
power, that the line of defence is taken at one end, for the 
sea is dried up, and the water ditch is dry ground. In fact, 
that there is a clearly drawn analogy between the capture of 
ancient and modern Babylon. 

Ezekiel in the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth chapters 
takes up the lamentations of Tyrus, as follows : — 

" What can equal e Tyrus,' like her destroyed in the midst 
" of the seas ? When thy manufactures were exported sea- 
" borne (in ships ?) out of thee, thou filledst many nations, 
" thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the abun- 
e< dance of thy wealth and merchandise. In the day when 



236 



MODERN TYRE. 



" thou shalt be broken by the seas (Sphinx again) in the 
" depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy citizens 
" in the midst of thee shall fall, and all the inhabitants of 
f< the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings sore 
" afraid. 

" With thy wisdom and understanding thou hast gotten 
" thee riches, gold, and silver into thy treasures, by thy 
" great wisdom, and by trading thou hast increased thy 
" riches, thine heart is exalted because of thy riches. 
" Therefore, thus saith the Lord. Because thou hast set 
" thy mind as the mind of God, behold I will bring foreign- 
" ers upon thee, the terrible of nations, and they shall draw 
" their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and shall 
" defile thy brightness, they shall bring thee down to the 
fe grave, and thou shalt die the deaths of the slain in the 
" midst of the seas." 

The solution of this riddle is again afforded by the seer, 
who says : — 

" I will bring forth a fire (of gunpowder?) from the midst 
" of thee, it shall consume thee, and I will bring thee to 
" ashes in the presence of all them that behold thee." 

Amos likens this commercial empire to Damascus, to 
Edom, to Gaza, and to Tyrus. He writes as if composing a 
musical fugue, and threatens the devastation of an explosive 
fire upon each antitype, to devour the palaces of the city. 

To return to the significance of Isaiah's statements re- 
specting the means to be employed to scatter the power of 
modern Tyrus, which is detailed in the fifth verse of the 
twenty-third chapter thus: — 

" As at the report concerning ( Egypt? so shall they be 
" grievously pained at the report of Tyre." 

The question then arises, what is this report concerning 
ancient Egypt, and what were the marvels of this country ? 

Napoleon Bonaparte declared that he had resolved to repeat 
these marvels of " Egypt" at Cherbourg ; and his nephew has 
shewn to all, except the self-deceived, that he intends carry- 
ing out his uncle's designs. 

I now furnish my interpretation of this great Sphinx's 



THE CHERBOURG SNARE. 



237 



riddle, reserving my authority and source of information for 
another time and place. 

A RIDDLE INTERPRETED, 

FROM THE " MELBOURNE ARGUS." 

Sir, — I have waited very patiently for some erudite person to attempt 
the solution of "the great riddle of the present day — the French 
sphinx ;" but as no one up to this time has given anything like a good 
guess, I have ventured upon offering an answer myself. 

The London Punch, of 7th August last, has not facilitated the clearing 
up of this mystery by its woodcut of that day's publication, because all in- 
terpretations of symbolic speeches, when rendered into too literal 
meanings, are delusive. 

Let us consider attentively what is inscribed upon that monument 
of the great Napoleon L, pointing his finger so significantly in a certain 
direction : — 

" J'avais resolu de renouveler a Cherbourg les marveilles de l'Egypte. 
J'avais eleve deja dans le mer ma pyramide. J'aurais en aussi mon 
Lac Moeris." 

Which I translate thus : — 

" I had resolved upon repeating at Cherbourg the marvels of Egypt." 
And then follows this — " I had raised already in the sea my pyramid. 
I should have had also my Lake Moeris." 

But it will be found, I apprehend, that the significance of the whole 
speech turns upon the word "pyramide." So far it has tacitly been 
allowed to be rendered into the English word " pyramid." The mind 
then accepts this translation as correct, because the Pyramids are 
marvels of Egypt. 

Nevertheless, we must consider if there was not something con- 
structed in ancient Egypt even more marvellous than the Pyramids 
themselves. 

Herodotus says the labyrinth was a greater wonder than the pyramids. 
" The vaults," he says, " surpassed all the works of man that he had 
looked on before." Nothing, however, now remains but its lower portions ; 
all the rest which the King Moeris built has perished. Still we can 
believe something of what the historian relates of this Labyrinth. He 
describes it as a suite of vast halls, such as no other buildings on earth 
can parallel, being groups of palaces in the immediate vicinity of that 
artificial lake, called by the Greeks " Moeris." It had twelve immense 
halls, with their porches off one another, six facing north, six facing 
south ; above and below these an incredible number of smaller halls in 
each suit of palaces ; but the vaults beneath them do not appear to have 
been open to visitors, being supposed to be especially sacred as re- 
ceptacles for precious remains, etc. 



238 



MODERN TYRE. 



A canal passes through vaults of^ this labyrinth, and Herodotus 
supposes there are two ranges of these palaces on opposite banks of the 
river. 

At one corner of the enclosure, around one end of this labyrinth, is a 
pyramid (80 yards square), and a subterranean passage leads from the 
labyrinth to the Pyramid of Moeris. 

The Lake Mceris was an artificial one (dock ?), constructed to regulate 
disasters from irregularities of the annual overflow of the river Nile, 
receiving the waters of superfluous inundations, and supplying deficiency 
in failing seasons. 

The Labyrinth was begun by King Moeris, and completed by Phiops 
or Aphophis, or Pharaoh, Joseph's patron. Moeris was buried in the 
pyramid which he bad commenced and his son completed. It has been 
well remarked that this name is of " the utmost historical importance. 
His reign was very glorious ; no king has left so many quarry-marks as 
this sovereign." It is, of course, well known that this man was a scion 
of the family whose success caused them to be sneeringly designated 
" shepherd kings," and the prominent fact in their successes was the 
capture of Crocodilopolis, Mceris remaining as king in that city, and his 
son Phiops being at the same time monarch of Lower Egypt in Memphis 
— in fact, what wc may call a nice little family party. 

But how about the sphinx? 

Why, this pleasing little piece of bijouterie was tho work of King w 
Sephres, dedicated to lia Athom. Athom, or Adam, was worshipped 
as the god of the setting sun, and it has been conjectured that the in- 
tention at one time was to construct an avenue of sphinxes, forming the 
Heliopolitan entrance to the precincts of the pyramid. 

Well, another name appears on this sphinx, that of Armais, and it 
seems the ancient Egyptians were no better than folks in these 
last days. They were eternally murdering! each other wholesale upon 
religious pretexts. An historian says — " It is not easy to understand 
how entirely the wars of the Egyptians were religious wars." 

Armais wrests his " annexations'' from worshippers of Phtha in 
Memphis, to add to the precious idolatry of Ra Athom, of Heliopolis, 
and thus establishes the latter interesting deity on both banks of the 
river, at expense of Phtha (poor Phtha !) to whom his house had an 
especial antipathy. 

Armais then cuts his name on the sphinx, after cutting, I suppose, a 
few score hundred throats to entitle him to that honour. The sphinx 
faces east, in direction of Heliopolis, from Ghizeh; and " Armais," the 
successful butcher of some thousands of his unlucky species, makes a 
way or path from Heliopolis for the god to travel upon. How very 
considerate ! Corns on his toes, eh ? And it is to be borne in mind that 
this precious sphinx is stuck up at the termination of the deity's foot- 
path. "And," say "Armais's" trumpet-blowers, "all Nature's gods 



THE MARVELS OF EGYPT. 



239 



and men rejoiced at the great union of the two banks of the Nile." 
Two of a trade can never agree, so the gods amalgamated their idolatry- 
shops, and consented to divide the plunder, share and share alike," 

The following modest effusion is concocted and inscribed in hiero- 
glyphics : — 

Four legends of Armais — 

No. 1. The King, lord of both Egypts, "Armais," the life-giving. 

No. 2. The Golden Hawk, greatest of birds in all the world. 

No. 3. Beloved of Amen-Ra, Lord of the three seats of justice of both 
Egypts, in his chief habitation. 

No. 4. Lord of the Two Egypts, conquering, sword-piercing the 
" Phuttim." 

There is a pretty little piece of rhodomontade, the life-giving (in the 
same sense that a loaded stick is called the life-preserving ?) ; Golden 
Hawk (or Eagle?), living symbol of Ra, the "Sun." Amen-Ra or 
Ham, son of Noah (beloved of him ! — he would not have spoken two 
words to him when alive, I am sure) ; and sword-piercing those un- 
lucky fellows the "Phuttim," or worshippers of "Phut," or Phtha, son 
of Noah. 

How he insists upon his two seats of sovereignty, one in each Egypt ; 
and his three seats of justice, one for the occasional use of that im- 
maculate deity with the tender toes, "Ra-Athom,'' I suppose, pro- 
claiming, and probably insisting upon the worship of one son of Noah, 
and piercing with the sword all the followers of another son of the 
same man. 

So much for that lot. And now observe this significant hint from 
some amiable youths in France, addressed to Napoleon III. " Sire, the 
people of England are not against you ; you have only against you 
those Sardanapaluses of the Thames, who, drinking from golden cups 
the sweat of a hundred millions of helots, set themselves up as the 
pastors of civilisation." Setting aside the unutterable nastiness of this 
fellow's ideas, let us consider what was the " clean notion" running in 
his brain at the time he concocted the above. 

Sardanapalus, who, Diodorus Siculus says, w T as driven by his revolted 
Governors, Arbaces and Beleses, into Nineveh, and fancied himself safe 
because the Oracle had said " that city could never be taken unless the 
river became an enemy to the city," and who was ruined by this safety- 
guard being made his enemy!! Consider, too, the popular account of the 
taking of Babylon by Cyrus turning the river. 

" Oh, but the French cannot have undermined the British Channel," 
it may be said. Very well, have it so; I only offer this as an attempted 
solution ; try one yourself, and let us have it soon, before we have news 
from London up to about 13th November. And why the 13th of 
November, you ask ? Wait patiently, my inquiring friend; if you find 
I am right once, you will come for some more information; if wrong, 



240 



MODERN TYRE. 



then I am a fool, which designation I am quite willing and able to 
pocket. 

Listen to this sweet warbling of the choice songsters of Paris. "But 
soon a low deep murmur made itself heard in France, like the howling 
wind that announces the coming tempest, the memory of the past, daily 
insults, alarm for the future, all combine to fill French hearts with an 
indescribable agitation, and the cry is heard that we must seize the 
opportunity to recover our former possessions and influence in Asia, and 
either rush to the succour of the Indian insurgents, or — plant the 
tricolor flag on the tower of London." 

What do you think of these sentiments ? and more especially the con- 
fident tone adopted, " we must," etc. 

Forewarned is forearmed for this colony, though I fear too late for 
poor old England. 

1 am, yours, 

WILLIAM BRADE. 

Victoria, Australia, November, 1858. 

It may be objected to the above solution that it is simply 
impossible, and that whatever is impossible cannot actually 
be, and never comes to pass. The objection is very good, 
and the result will no doubt demonstrate the correctness of it ; 
but I pass on to one of the most remarkable books in the collec- 
tion of Hebrew canonical scriptures ; the book of the Burden 
of Nineveh, the vision of Nahuni (the seer) the Elkoshite. . 

In my reading of this prophecy it will be seen that it is 
strictly original ; I know of no similar interpretation extant, 
and I scorn to cut cabbages to make apple pies from a neigh- 
bour's garden, because I cannot help perceiving that the old 
Hebrew seers strongly denounce all false interpreters, and 
they speak as commanded, thus, — 

" I am against those prophets that steal my words, every 
" one from his neighbour. I will bring an everlasting reproach 
" upon you, and a perpetual shame which shall not be 
" forgotten." 

" Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make 
" my people err, and bite with their teeth, crying Peace, and 
" the thing he hath not put into their mouth. Therefore 
" dimness of sight that ye shall not have a vision, it shall be 
" dark unto you that ye shall not divine. The sun shall go 
" down over the prophets, and the daylight shall be darkness 



THE RUIN OF MODERN NINEVEH. 



241 



st over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed and the in- 
" terpreters of prophecy confounded ; yea, they shall all 
" cover their lips, for there is no answer of God." 

In the second chapter, the seer Nahum says,— 

" He that dashes in pieces (the scatterer or disperser) is 
" come up before thy face, preserve the ammunition of war, 
" (powder, shot, shell, &c.,) watch the way, (the British 
" Channel,) make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. 
" The shield (covering) of his mighty (military) men is made 
" red, the valiant men (soldiers) are covered (or clothed) in 
" scarlet (uniforms). The chariots (artillery) shall be with 
" flaming torches in the day of preparation, and the fir trees 
" (ships' masts in the navies) shall be terribly shaken. The 
" chariots (artillery) shall rush through the streets, they shall 
" jostle one another on the highways, they (the artillery) shall 
" appear like firebrands, darting flashes of fire like the light- 
" ning. He (the British general) shall muster his forces, 
" they shall stumble in their manoeuvering, they shall make 
66 haste to the ramparts (Portsmouth, &c.,) thereof, and the 
(t defence shall be prepared. The gates of the rivers 
" (British Channel) shall be opened (from Cherbourg) and 
te the palace (fortress of Portsmouth) shall be molten (by fire 
" of gunpowder.) 

" Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought 
" up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, 
" taboring upon their breasts. But ancient Nineveh like a 
" pool of water was secure and still, (see the eighth verse of 
"third chapter,) yet they shall flee away crying i stand,' 
" rally ! rally ! but none shall cause them to turn (rally the 
(e routed hosts). 

(i Take ye of the spoil of silver, take ye of the spoil of 
{( gold, for there is no end of the boundless stores of 
« gorgeous and beautiful furniture. 

" She is empty, plundered, and wasted; the heart melts, 
" the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and 
" the countenance of everyone gathers blackness. Where 
" is the dwelling place of the lions, (British lions,) and the 

R 



242 



MODERN TYRE. 



" feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, the old 
" (British) lion walked, and the lion's whelp and none made 
" them afraid. The lion did tear in pieces enough for his 
" whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes 
" with prey, and his dens with plunder. 

"Beheld I am against thee (modern Nineveh) saith the 
" Lord of Hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, 
" (gunpowder,) and the sword shall devour the young lions. 
" I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy 
" messenger shall no more be heard. Woe to the city of 
" bloodshed, it is all full of lies and robbery, (grasping, 
" greedy, money-grubbing, frauds, and falsehoods,) the prey 
" departeth not. 

Hark! " The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling 
" of (artillery) wheels, the prancing horses, and bounding 
" chariots. The horseman (cavalry) beareth aloft the 
" flaming sword and the glittering spear. Behold a multi- 
" tude of killed and wounded, a great number of carcases, 
i{ no end of corpses, they stumble over their corpses: 
" because of the multitude of whoredoms of this well 
" favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth 
" nations through her whoredoms, and families through her 
" witchcraft. (Idolatry of commercial and manufacturing 
" plutocratic despotism.) Behold I am against thee, (O 
" Britain,) saith the Lord of hosts. I will discover thy 
" skirts upon thy face. I will shew the nations thy naked- 
" ness, and the kingdoms thy shame. I will cast abominable 
ce filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and set thee as a 
" gazing stock. It shall come to pass, that all they that look 
" upon thee shall flee away from thee, and say, Nineveh 
" (Britain) is laid waste, who will bemoan her ? where shall 
" I seek comfort for thee ? Art thou better than populous 
" No, (Nineveh your prototype,) that was situated among 
" the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose ram- 
" part (like yours) was the sea, and her wall (of defence) 
" was from the sea ? All thy strongholds shall be like fig 
if trees with the first ripe figs, if they be shaken they shall 



THE TYRUS OF EPHRAIM'S DESCENDANTS. 243 



" even fall into the month of the eater. Behold thy people 
" in the midst of thee are women. The gates (defences) of 
" thy land shall be set wide open to thine enemies, and fire 
" shall devour thy bars (fortifications and ships). 

" Draw thee water for the siege, fortify thy strongholds, 
" go into clay, tread the mortar, make strong the brick kiln, 
" there (at Portsmouth) shall the fire devour thee, and the 
" sword shall cut thee on . 

" Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of 
" heaven, but the cankerworm extends his ravages and 
" vanishes (so shall your wealth go). 

" Thy shepherds (clergy and overseers of the flocks) are 
" slumbering. O monarch of Assyria, thy noblemen shall 
" dwell in the dust." 

Zechariah speaks of Tyrus in the ninth chapter thus : — 

" Tyrus did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up 
ee silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of her streets. 
i{ Behold the Lord will cast her out, he will smite her (naval) 
<e power in the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire? 
(gunpowder, &c.) 

Hosea declares that Tyrus in the last days stands for the 
great commercial empire of the children of Ephraim, and 
the affliction of Tyre is to draw the elect through the purg- 
ing baptism of fire and blood. In the thirteenth verse of 
the ninth chapter, this seer says : — 

" Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place, but 
" Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer." 

Again in the seventh and eighth verses of the twelfth 
chapter, the prophet speaks thus of Ephraim. 

" He is a merchant, (Gentile trader,) the balances of 
" deceit are in his hand, he loveth to deceive (cheat, or 
" overreach). And Ephraim saith, yet I am become rich, 
" I have found me out substance, all my toil and trouble 
e: does not enrich me fast enough, there is nothing wrong 
" in this." (grasping cupidity ?) 

The foregoing are sketches of the graphic pictures painted 
by the Hebrew seers of the fall of modern Tyre, or Babylon, 
or Nineveh. 

R 2 



244 



MODERN TYRE. 



It has recently been contended, that all idea of prognosti- 
cation must be eliminated from the study of Hebrew pro- 
phecy or poesy ; but it is clear from the very term " seer," 
that a true poet was one who saw or perceived truths that 
transcended ordinary human consciousness. With respect 
to the proper interpretation of prophecy, it is evident that 
the general reception or comprehension of its bearing upon 
current events must depend upon these events passing from 
divine into human history, for man's mind has to work up to 
what exists in itself, but does not exist to human con- 
sciousness, being out of all relation to its faculties of com- 
prehension. The human mind cannot perceive anything 
that exists of itself, that is out of relation to it. It perceives 
entities only as they are related to its faculties of comprehen- 
sion, and as they are relatively, conditionally, definitely, or 
phenomenally revealed. The true interpretation of pro- 
phecy, that relates to predestined events, is only possible in 
conditions of intelligence above the ordinary level of human 
perception, or where the events themselves have passed into 
history, for otherwise it would be in man's power to obstruct 
the free current of predestined events. The doctrine of 
predestination is only another name for human necessitation, 
and shews that the human mind has no absolute freedom 
over the sovereignty of natural processes. There can be no 
doubt that irregularities occur throughout natural pheno- 
mena, just as they are seen to take place in the actions of 
mankind ; but these irregularities, or variations, are as much 
under the control of the supreme power, as truly and fully 
as variations in music are under the control, and are pur- 
posely inserted by the composer of music. If a discord is 
permissible in music, why may not analogous variations and 
discords be equally within the limits of conditioned and 
regulated phenomena of natural processes ? 

The necessarian does not wish to deny the facts that are 
evident, demonstrating considerable conditional liberty for 
the play of human volitions, but the argument is, that they 
are no more absolutely free than the storms that occur in 
the atmospheric envelope of this planet, at one time con- 



INTERPRETATION OF ANCIENT HEBREW PROPHECY. 245 



ceived to be fortuitous, but now known to obey fixed laws. 
Service, and service of others, is the only true worship of 
Deity; but there cannot be any true service, or real worship 
of Deity, where the human mind makes itself, or its ego sum 
and its ego cogito sum, the centre of consciousness, and 
deduces its philosophy and belief from its absolute concepts, 
begotten of badly regulated imaginations, loose and inadver- 
tant cogitations, superstitions, fears, selfish aims, and slip-slop 
sentimentalities. 



246 



CHAPTER XL 

ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 

Asia remains a mystery, simply because Europe itself 
is a mystery. Both have a buried history, almost undreamed 
of. When science brings these traditional facts to the broad 
sunlight of methodical generalization, great will be the 
amazement of all men. 

China ! Mot de Venigme, says M. Hue. Truly a wonderful 
empire, of such bewildering antiquity as makes it ever bear 
the gait and speech of a hoary headed patriarch, of such a 
man as never had a youth, still less an infancy ! this 
country said to be, by one who had travelled across its 
centre, the i( Theatre of some mysterious event" the records of 
which have been buried, 'till a key to unlock this mystery is 
found. It is asserted, that at least thirty centuries can be 
assigned to its records, but this is a hasty and rash estimate, 
to support foregone conclusions, for the records found point 
backwards to untold ages in missing chronicles. 

It may be that the present boundaries and location of this 
empire are not identical with the ancient kingdom. Indeed, 
it seems but reasonable to suppose that they are not. But 
to some country radiating from the Euphratian centre, we 
must look for the missing evidence that is wanting to clear 
up the Asiatic mystery that puzzles us. 

Evidence from oriental chronicles, imperfect as it is, never- 
theless furnishes some facts that mark these people "homo- 
" geneous" throughout the ancient limits of their empire, 
that is, with certain social, political, and philosophical 



CHINA THE LAND OF MYSTERY. 



247 



features that are peculiar to the race, and do not obtain 
among more western nationalities. So far as an insight has 
been obtained into the records of bygone ages, it seems fair 
to assert from such gleaning, that what they now are, such 
they were in times long passed away (decay of present cen- 
tury eliminated from the question). And we find them 
yielding something to every reformer or revolutionize!' from 
within, as well as to every new theory of ethical and politi- 
cal system pressing on them from external sources, never- 
theless, steadily refusing to succumb, but after long passive 
resistance fairly swallowing up, by their own stolid inertia, 
all others that approached them, refusing nothing altogether, 
but contrawise receiving it, and with supreme indifference, 
almost ludicrous in its matchless pride, contenting themselves 
with ignoring all foreign superiority or even equality, and 
thus gradually returning, after slight reforms, to their old 
conservative standard of moral, political, and social maxims, 
so that while revolution after revolution rocks the mighty 
machine in the throes of apparent dismemberment, we find 
them still sailing along, assimilating but little from others, 
whilst they contrive by their own gravitation to impress 
their peculiar features of social organization upon surround- 
ing nations, by whose active propagandism most of their 
maxims and practice have been filtered into the world's 
civilization. 

China ! an empire stereotyped in mind, and to all progress 
dead, in whose past history is hidden something " pro- 
ei foundly mysterious,'' and upon the stage of whose affairs 
has been acted a drama of some " most mysterious events." 
Such a tremendous mystery as might make it the theatre of 
action on whose stage the first angels trod, as they per- 
formed their transitory but awful tragedy, and then disap- 
peared, sinking to rise no more, passed by and left to their 
fate, and chained in the bands of the darkness of impene- 
trable mystery till the great day of their now fast approach- 
ing judgment lifts the curtain of the past. 

Unhappy pair, and still more wretched race that drew 
them down to the level of that civilization, and its morality 



248 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



from which they were lifted to educate, advance, and elevate 
the rest of the human race! These -children of God, 
choosing to eat of the fruit of theological good and evil, 
rather than patiently work out the problem of humanity's 
destiny, drew down upon themselves and their sacerdotal 
seducers, a sentence that consigns them to an existence on 
Ixion's wheel, till measurement of eternity by man shall be 
no more. No banner with motto of " Excelsior" for them, but 
such as they are, and were, such they remain, until other 
nations fulfilling their several allotted destinies, find them 
after immense cycles of years have rolled over them, a 
monument of awful warning to all, that all power belongs 
to the Most High, and that without obedience to him who 
gives breath to the people on this revolving planet, and his 
spirit of life to them that dwell thereon, there is no progress, 
no change, no immortality, no hope, but the heavy stone that 
Sisyphus hoists heavenward to attain his eternity of rest, is 
never, never to reach the top, nor yet may miserable Tan- 
talus wet his cracked and bleeding lips with the elixir of 
eternal peace. Generation after generation rise, culminate 
in the zenith of manhood, sink, and vanish in the ocean of 
eternal night, but still there comes " no change," j ourneying 
on, journeying ever, a weary, dreary walk. Silver they 
gather by thousands, gold by tens of thousands, property by 
millions ; this is the reward for some hard workers, but for 
none is there eternal life. 

And yet these men are all content, for have not their 
gods pendulous bellies? Why should not they have the 
same ? What man is there that would be the Adonis or 
Apollo of his set, let him enlarge his waistband, and 
measure fifty inches round his waist. Did Apicius, that 
mighty gastronomic, hang himself? so do they. Was he 
remarkable for an aptitude for cookery ? so are they, a 
very nation of cooks, and moreover wonderfully clever 
actors, with minds and bodies of such india-rubber supple- 
ness, that they can at pleasure act any part, and by turns 
shew passions so opposite that they may be said, each indi- 
vidual, to be an epitome of the entire race, and having, 



GLEANING FROM ABBE HUC'S TRAVELS. 



249 



observes M. Hue, missionary apostolic from Christian 
France, "a good deal of the monkey in their nature," 
therein differing widely from his countrymen, not however 
if there be any truth in M. Voltaire. 

To all religious impressions our celestial friends are pro- 
foundly indifferent, it is, quoth Abbe Hue, "an inveterate 
ei and chronic malady." They will swallow everything, but 
digest and assimilate nothing. And we are furnished with 
an anecdote, that speaks volumes for the Chinese animal. 
This is an answer to our priest from an anticipated convert, 
who instead of turning up trump, as expected, refused to 
follow suit. 

Quoth John Chinaman, " No doubt the Christian religion 
" is beautiful and sublime, its doctrine explains with method 
" and clearness all that is necessary for man to know, who- 
" ever has any sense must see that, and will adopt it in his 
" heart with all sincerity, but after all we must not think 
" too much of these things, and increase the cares of life. 
" Now just consider, we have a body, how many cares it 
" demands, it must be clothed, fed, sheltered from the 
" injuries of the weather, its infirmities are great, its 
(( maladies numerous ; it is agreed on all hands, that health 
" is our most precious good. This body that we see, that 
" we touch, must be taken care of every day, and every 
" moment of the day. Now is not this enough without 
" troubling ourselves about a soul that we do not see ? The 
" life of man is full of misery, and very short, it is made up 
(C of a succession of important concerns that follow one 
" another without interruption. Our hearts and our minds 
6S are barely sufficient for the solicitude of the present life. 
" Is it wise then to torment oneself about a future one ?" 

The Chinese are represented as being passionately fond of 
theatres, whereat national and tragic events are represented, 
and are said to be wonderfully skilful in all that depends 
upon address and agility. 

Is it possible that in the legacy left by Joseph to his 
children, called the books of the beginning or Genesis, we 
are listening to an ancient oratorio, transcribed from an 



250 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



Oriental tragedy, relating to this profoundly mysterious 
event we are in search of? 

Say, king Solomon ! " There is nothing new under the sun." 

Oh Asia ! what is this mystery remaining hid in the yet 
unearthed records of thy chancery ? Thy emperor is even 
yet called a " son of heaven," was this ever a genuine title ? 
Was thy emperor ever truly and literally the representative 
of heaven, and the anointed son of him who is God most 
mighty and most high ? Who first bore the title of " King 
"of kings and Lord of lords?" Who first carried 
so many crowns upon his head ? Not alone King of kings 
and Lord of lords, but Supreme Head, High Priest, and 
great sacrificer, principal legislator, first doctor of the 
empire, chief of the literary aristocracy, instructor and 
governor, all of whose decrees were designated " Lessons," 
looked up to as a parent, whose duty was to teach his sub- 
jects as his children, and having a holy mission entrusted to 
him for the sake of the community, where the emperor 
and law are regarded as father and mother ; a system of 
government tending marvellously to create attachment to 
ancient customs, and profound respect for the authority of 
eternal law. So the citizens owe filial obedience to the 
emperor, as to a parent, who is the anointed son of heaven, 
and whose " queen" was styled the " mother of all 
et living" over whom she reigned. 

Where art thou, O Adam, and where art thou, O Eve ? 
Who was universal censor at that most eventful period, 
when you were warned by heaven's messenger that your 
power was gone? To this censorship even emperor must 
listen; and what said he, publishing his message to your 
disgrace ? 

This was your sentence miserable woman, and this your 
doom unhappy king : " Dust thou art, and to mother earth 
" thou shalt return, the only narrow road to conditional 
" immortality you have barred up yourselves." 

On what page of the ancient " San-dze-king" must we 
look for that cry of bitter regret that echoed its useless 
accents to the wind. Down to dreary stagnation do we 



SOCIAL SCIENCE IN THE ORIENT. 



251 



drop. A long struggle ensues between the children of the 
Most High, and the men of this mortal life, continuing 
onwards from Cain's butchery of his brother down to the emi- 
gration of Noah to distant lands, going he knew not where ; but 
believing in active faith of obedience, that his God would lead 
him to the new country prepared for his ladder of immor- 
tality, to water and clouds above, and boundless waste of 
ocean around, till land is once more reached, a new earth 
is found, and a race separated by a pathless waste of 
waters from the stagnant and corrupting mass of civilization, 
from which Noah and his descendants have been led away. 

When we read accounts of Chinese social life, we are 
forcibly impressed with the vivid reality of the curse pro- 
nounced upon Eve and her daughters, the curse of aban- 
doning them to the tender mercies of that civilization and its 
moral maxims, from which Eve ought to have lifted them. 

The condition of women in China is said to be most 
pitiable. Their sufferings, privations, and miseries of all 
kinds, wait upon them from their cradle, and dance attend- 
ance until they die. They are looked upon as " soul-less " 
beings, and are treated as creatures radically despicable, so 
that it has been truly remarked, that the servitude of women 
has become in some measure the corner stone of society in 
China. A learned philosopher says : — " The newly-married 
ee wife should be but a shadow and echo in the 
" house." 

So her lord and master compels her to swallow her 
victuals when himself and his boys have distended their 
provision pouches to the required dimensions. The wife 
may look on, may serve them, pour out for them the hot 
wine, fill and light their pipes, and then she must retire to 
get her meals apart, and let her husband, his guests, and 
boys, talk obscenity. The husband can legally starve or sell 
his wife, nay may stipulate for certain " rupees" for hire of 
her prostitution, wherefore it has certain results, for this 
state of perpetual degradation and misery frequently drives 
these unhappy creatures to cut short the thread of life. 
Considerable numbers hang and drown themselves. The 



252 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



lords of the creation, however, are no better disposed to 
regard life as any sacred trust ; they die, we are told, appa- 
rently as unconcerned as blue-bottle flies, and sometimes 
to the music of saw and hammer implementing their coffins 
in contiguous apartments. Moreover, we are furnished with 
anecdotes of relatives, near and dear, haggling with doctors 
about price of pills and drugs, urging upon the sick the pro- 
priety of saving cash as better kept for handsome burial 
furniture. Further we are told that they are with extreme 
readiness induced to commit suicide, preferring speedy death 
to life in suffering. 

Then again, accounts are given of mendicant wretches 
swarming, falling down and fainting half dead by the way- 
side, nay even dying ere they reach the place whence 
they expected help, and their rotting carcases by the way- 
side and in fields are passed without much notice, as too 
common a spectacle for remark. These wretched beings are 
the victims of such pleasantly deadly vices as gambling, 
drunkenness, and debauchery of the beastly type that Sodom 
and her sister cities wallowed in. 

In Abbe Hue's journal, there is an anecdote of one 
wretch massacreing his infant daughter in order that by 
careful inspection of the way in which the poor little crea- 
ture's blood flowed along the cleaver of decapitation, he may 
augur prospect of future chance of male offspring; a 
vigorous constitution being marked, in their physiological 
science, by certain niceties in the flow of the blood ; feeble 
constitutions being supposed, by these savans, to be good for 
nothing but begetting of dreaded female incumbrances. 

This is the empire that Voltaire brought into court, to 
furnish evidence of the blessings of civilization, such a civil- 
ization ! — but not more than Christian Europe and Yankee 
land will come to in future ages, unless the religion of man- 
kind be turned from vocalizing profession to active worship, 
performed in obedience to the great law of mutual concession 
and sympathizing self-sacrifice, which constitutes the true 
basis of sociological science. 

To return, however, to the significance of certain Chinese 



"KING OF KINGS" AND "LOKD OF LOEDS." 253 



royal titles. It appears from these, that there once existed 
a mighty nation at the head of civilization, in ages so remote 
that their historical monuments have been submerged and 
lost in the deluge of the Noachian waters of oblivion. And 
it appears also, that the sovereign of this great empire was 
styled " King of kings, and Lord of lords," in addition to 
other titles proclaiming and establishing his authority to rule 
and govern, in the two-fold form of instruction and executive 
administration of these laws, the nations of the world. That 
this emperor's power was superior to that of every monarch 
upon earth, for he was magister in the imperium super 
imperium that was in those times (and still continues to 
be) so much wanted for pacific settlement of constantly re- 
curring national contentions, and for the equitable adjust- 
ment of rival and conflicting interests. 

The singular titles and prerogatives traditionally claimed 
by the Emperor of China, asserted to be the adopted son 
of the Most High God and the representative on earth of 
heavenly power, having a celestial mission from Deity for 
the education and government of all mankind, cannot be 
taken for gratuitous and arrogant assumption of an ardent 
but badly regulated imagination, because they are actually 
traditional landmarks of momentous events. They are, so to 
speak, the links of a long lost and broken chain of facts, 
belonging to the buried history of a mysterious and terrible 
tragedy, and they afford a clue to a drama of singular signi- 
ficance, and serve as indices to guide recently awakened 
European interest to bygone events, thus rescued from the 
everlasting darkness of oblivion by what may be termed 
floating pieces of a fearful wreck. The hopes and aspirations 
of humanity for regenerated, social, and political science, 
are inextricably interwoven with this occult history, for to 
this fall of the adopted or anointed children of the eternal 
Father, the great God of heaven and earth, are connected 
the sorrows and sufferings of nations overburdened with the 
heavy load that crude philosophies and false sacerdotal sys- 
tems impose upon their weary shoulders. Thus it is to the 
east that we must turn to prosecute our search for the buried 



254 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



chronicles of the fall of the first witnesses of Deity upon 
earth, who abandoned their mission to solve the great enigma 
of the universe for succeeding generations, and by accepting 
the bitter fruit of effete superstitions became perverts to the 
morbid consciousness of absolute evil in the universe. 

But the orient is no longer the head, the brain, or active 
intellect of this planet. To Europe now belongs the mission 
to pioneer humanity in the march of progress, and this move- 
ment, whenever it commences, will be eastwards until it 
reaches the chosen country made sacred for the growth of 
true philosophical and social religion, and whence will 
radiate the beams of that effulgent light for which the 
nations upon earth have so long looked. For many ages all 
the lines of prophetic light have been directed towards 
Palestine as the stage whereon will be acted the closing 
scene of this planet's struggle, and the final desperate conflict 
between ancient serpent sacerdotalism and the newly born 
power of regenerated social life. 

Abbe Hue conjectures that the doctrines of Buddha, or 
the man god, were introduced officially into China in the 
first century of the Christian era. 

But Buddhism was flourishing in the full meridian splen- 
dour of its sunlight in other Asiatic countries, many cen- 
turies before what is called Christianity was preached, and 
the votaries of this system numbered some hundreds of 
millions of the human raee. 

The belief in an evil principle contending for sovereignty 
in nature with a good principle is of world-wide acceptation, 
and appears to have inoculated the theology of Judaism 
and Christianism with traditional rites and ceremonies from 
Asia. 

It is recorded of a certain zealous Jesuit, that, on his way, 
with a stock of morals and miracles, to the far east, he 
encountered something in Thibet that almost deprived him 
of his wits. He saw there what induced him to say, after 
careful inspection, was a very creditable imitation, by the 
devil, of the Roman Catholic religion. He was amazed to 
find the trinity in unity of Deity, together with the whole 



THE ORIENTAL DELUGE OF SACERDOTALISM. 255 



paraphernalia of the European ritual, including even the 
cardinal's scarlet hat and hosiery. The priests of Boodh 
had shaven crowns, wore mitres, told beads, burnt incense, 
held matins, vespers, and chaunted prayers, preached 
celibacy, and kept nunneries of vestal virgins. They per- 
formed penance, gave dispensations and absolution, blessed 
and cursed in the regular orthodox fashion. The portraits of 
departed saints in their temples had the catholic glory round 
their polled heads. Their theology was not very different 
from Europeanism, except perhaps that hell fire was not 
arranged upon the same plan. It required a careful sorting 
up every seven thousand years, and the miserable inmates 
turning over to be grilled on the other side. On the whole, 
however, the thing was a very double of the holy mother 
church the Jesuit had left, and he could not but express his 
admiration of Satan's abilities in producing so good an imita- 
tion. He little suspected, worthy man, that his own church 
was but Europeanized and Buddhised — Brahminism. Could 
he have pierced into the history of the past, he would have 
seen rash converts rushing from Syria eastwards, and return- 
ing with the traditions and trumpery of Asia to clothe what 
they called the religion of Christ. If the Jesuit could have 
seen this, he would have been able to understand why it was 
that Paul was not permitted to journey eastward from Syria, 
and he would further have comprehended how this Orien- 
talism had even in Paul's time commenced to undermine, and 
subsequently to take the citadel of decaying faith, substi- 
tuting that ritualism of false philosophy and lying legends 
that went by the name of Christianity. 

This substitute of conventional belief, and mere profession 
of faith, for the active obedience of true religion of duty, 
degenerated, as it always has done and will do, into the 
church ritualism of visible symbols and standards of meta- 
physical tenets, ceremonial etiquette, kotouing, and repeat- 
ing prayers, songs, howls, bell ringing, man millinery, harle- 
quinism, and downright jugglery, and Jack Pudding antics ; 
mistaking the shadow for the substance, and white-washing 
the outside of the human carcase which is left within a cage 



256 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



for foul and unclean thoughts, a living sepulchre of death, 
full of uncleanness, insanity, and decay. 

What might perhaps have staggered the Jesuit more than 
anything else, if he had studied this Oriental scheme of 
theism, would have been one reputed origin of Boodh's first 
incarnation in the human form. The Indo-Chinese account 
is a caricature, as follows: — The divine nature entered the 
womb of Maha-yo-diva, the Queen, or wife of Soho-den, 
King of Magadhi, in the north of Hindostan. As soon as 
the prophet was born, he walked about, with one hand lifted 
up to heaven, proclaiming his divine origin, and then we 
may suppose, settled down to his titty : however that may 
be, the infant thrived upon something, and became a child; 
his childhood not devoted to marbles, kites, and treacle tolfee, 
but passed in theological study ! so that his learning sur- 
passed the oldest and profoundest sages. At seventeen he 
married, but not content with one wife, must have two con- 
cubines to bother him, and as might have been expected, 
three years of this domestic arrangement was enough for 
him, so he ran away from his family at twenty, forsaking the 
world, and retired to continue his sacred studies under 
masters, who were four of the most celebrated D.D.'s of that 
age. 

Ten years elapsed, and when thirty he has gained the 
knowledge of the entire universe, and to make an awfully 
long winded story short, (students must refer to originals,) 
he became the god Buddha. 

When seventy years of age, he sickened, and fearing dis- 
solution, (which we respectfully submit is out of all character 
for a Deity,) he sent for his disciples, who numbered it 
appears some scores of thousands, and unfolded the mystery 
of his doctrine. Which when unfolded, was really a curi- 
osity in its way, and quite on a par with the god's temporary 
abode on earth, but seems rather like labour in vain, to have 
spent so many years, and exhausted the brains of four 
doctors of divinity to arrive at. The mystery was just 
this :— 

" The grand principle of all things is emptiness and 



BIOGHAPHY OF SAKYA A CAEICATURE. 257 



i " nothing ; from nothing all things proceeded, and into 
" nothing all will return, and this is the end of our hopes. 
" There are several heavens or places of bliss, but the 
se summit of bliss is total annihilation and complete non- 
ec entity or absorption." 

Whereupon ten chosen quill-driving disciples set to work 
upon his biography, produced five thousand volumes of small 
talk, and this done, Buddha died, or rather, proceeded on his 
journey from nowhere to nothing, to be finally absorbed. 

Ex nihilo nihil Jit has some sense in it ; but that out of 
nothing should come everything, to return to nothing again, 
certainly does seem to warrant a larger acquaintance with 
morals or sacred metaphysics than is generally thought 
necessary for a gentlemen's education in these days. 

Dr. Thomson, in his journal of travels in India, remarks of 
Buddhism that :— 

" This religion is a jumble of metaphysics, mysticism, 
" moral precepts, fortune telling, juggling, and idolatry, 
" The doctrine of metempsychosis is curiously blended with 
" precepts and tenets very similar to those of Christianity, 
" and the worship of grotesque deities, and yet these images 
" are not considered to be representatives of the highest 
" order of beings, or of Buddha himself, or of his manifes- 
" tations." 

In another place, when he speaks of this charming hypo- 
thesis of metempsychosis, he says that he saw cc representa- 
cc tions of the dead passing through various transformations 
" by creeping through a vessel shaped like a dice box ; at 
" one end of which was seen the head of a fish, &c, and at 
" the other, the legs of men undergoing the change." 

The ancient trinity of Deity appears to have been origin- 
ally made up as follows, First, the paramount Deity, or 
parent God ; Second, his inspired prophet, or man God ; and 
Third, the prophet's book. So that Deity, prophet, and 
sacred book constituted the " original trinity in unity." 
More than one writer remarks the extraordinary analogy 
that exists between the rites and ceremonies of Buddhists 
and Confou-Tszeans, and what appears in European 

8 



258 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



churches, and contends that although it is asserted by- 
European authors that these forms of religion were intro- 
duced by the Jesuits who visited China, and introduced 
their ritualism some centuries ago, yet this is emphatically 
denied by the natives, who shew that they can prove their 
doctrines and practices back to the remotest ages. Jesuitism, 
as preached by such men as Kicci, doubtless moulded many 
grosser forms of idolatry into less monstrous rites, but still 
the basis of the entire system must have been there before 
him many ages. 

The great principle of evil, the spirit of malignity, or Qui, 
is represented as an immense black, hideous monster, who is 
supposed to exercise a pernicious material influence over 
human affairs, and* this charming conception of a Deity is 
represented with horns, wings, cloven footed, tailed, and 
altogether presenting an appearance, that if photographed, 
would entitle the original to the appellation of a "ludicrously 
" hideous monster." 

In China, amongst a large number of sects of all sorts, 
three chief religions prevail: Buddhism, the worship of Fo, 
imported from India: the worship of Taosze, or Laotze, 
by spirit-rapping savans, mystical, and magic working folks ; 
and the religion of Confucius. 

The Buddhists are said to approach nearest to European 
standards of orthodox religious performances ; though differ- 
ing very little from Thibetan head quarters. The Chinese 
Buddha is a trinity, consisting of Boodh past, present, and 
future, together with a smaller fry of gods and godly saints 
too numerous to describe. The religion has much to do 
with large praying performances. Indeed it is very con- 
fidently asserted by one of their standard divines, that a 
very pious man, who can tell his beads up to four hundred 
thousand Ome-too-fows, has a sure and certain expectation 
of a personal interview with the principal Deity. They 
have also numerous nunneries dedicated to the goddess of 
<f mercy." This goddess of the nuns of mercy is the 
patroness of women attacked with the small pox, those who 
are enciente, and those who are never likely to have any 



BUDDHISM NOT SAKYA'S PHILOSOPHY. 259 



family at all, rather an odd conjunction, but perhaps useful 
in practice. 

One strong conviction forces itself into the mind of a 
student of Buddhism, that it is not proved that Buddha was 
the real author of all the rubbish imputed to him. Sakya 
has undoubtedly been served like all true prophets are 
treated. No sooner are they dead than a huge pyramid of 
mere verbiage makes its appearance as their work, and it would 
be as fair to charge Sakya with the authorship of the vast heap 
of lies and balderdash that bears his name, as it would be to 
charge Jesus of Nazareth with dictating the verbose plati- 
tudes of the fathers of ancient Christianity, or Moses with the 
talmudism and rabbinical meanderings of the J ewish doctors. 

Buddhism is really nothing but a resurrection pie of a 
still older religion, perhaps Brahminism, which in its turn is 
the hashed meat of a still earlier tradition. Buddhism has 
apparently followed the stereotyped course of all theisms. 
A prophet rises up and proclaims one true God, and is an 
atheist to old religions. He departs, then half converted 
theologians edit his book, or invent one if he has not left one, 
and what with fining down, and colouring up, erasing here, 
cutting out there, together with general repairs and altera- 
tions, the unfortunate parent author would never be able to 
recognise his own begetting if it came before him. The 
new truth and the old form of error, and the mixed truth 
and errors of past traditional systems, all get mixed together, 
so that the teacher of the new philosophy would be puzzled 
to say what really was his work, if he was asked to select it 
from the rest. According to one of the many views of 
Buddha's history, it seems he was a royal prince, who turned 
ascetic, and polled his head. He goes under a positive 
dictionary of titles, as Gotama and Chakia Mouni. He is a 
thorough ascetic, practising all kinds of saintly duties 
required in monkish life, and claims to be, as one assumed 
or imputed title shews, " an extinguisher of the senses," and 
is said to be holy by his own merit, and consecrates himself 
his own priest, so he teaches certain sacred precepts, and ten 
commandments. 

s 2 



260 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



Then we hear of a fiercely contested theological row that 
was brewed in the sixth century, between Brahmins and 
Boodhists, Boodhism taking refuge in the Himalaya. The 
followers of Chakia Mouni in the flowery land have only a 
very moony account to give, though they kindly offer the 
use of their libraries, as if any body valuing sanity of mind, 
would be rash enough to wade through some score thousand 
volumes or tracts of their choice theological palaver. 

It has been said of Buddhism that it is philosophically 
a paradox, because it resolves all natural phenomena into 
materialism, and that Sakya its founder ignored the existence 
of a supernatural power. To say the best of these assertions, 
they are one sided views, and by no means absolutely true. 
If Sakya ignored the existence of Deity it was only in 
reference to mankind's assumed knowledge that he did so, 
and the same denial of man's knowledge of God is applicable 
to Jesus of Nazareth, for he told both Samaritans and Jews 
that they knew not God ; and in one of his recorded prayers, 
he says that the whole world did not truly know Him. If 
therefore Sakya's atheism was an absolute negation of all 
possible idea of God, equally so is the negation of the 
founder of Christianity. But neither one nor the other 
attempted to overthrow an old form of faith without sub- 
stituting another and better one to take its place. Sakya's 
theism has perished; his atheism towards effete ancient 
theological systems, and his materialism, alone appears above 
the vast flood of human tradition that drowned the newer 
philosophy of active religious duty in the turbid waters of 
metaphysical mysticism. 

The notion vulgarly ascribed to Sakya, that he supposed 
the universe had originated from nothing, and would return 
to nothing again, is a mistake. What he taught was apparently 
to this effect, — that to the infantile human mind, all natural 
phenomena resolve themselves into material processes, of 
which the first cause is unknown, and all natural phenomena 
being necessarily material, there is nothing left for the human 
mind but to submit to the fate that material conditions 
impose upon it, and the fate so imposed is nothing short 



PROBABLE SIGNIFICANCE OF SAKYA'S "NIBBAN." 261 



of this, namely, that as the human mind is an attribute of a 
material organization, the mind perishes or returns to 
" Nibban," or the hell of nothingness, when the material 
body obeys the law of natural processes that necessitates the 
incessant subtle modification of material atoms. 

This system of Sakya is supported by modern science. It 
amounts to this, that all natural force is material, and all 
natural or material force acts in time. Time therefore de- 
termines the form and disposition of all natural force. Every 
first or supernatural cause must be made, or become incarnate 
in natural or material forms and dispositions before it can in 
any way effect the human mind. Therefore the human mind 
neither is nor can in any way whatever be effected by a 
supernatural cause, but in all cases this cause is begotten into 
material or personal phenomena before it affects human con- 
sciousness. 

Since all natural force acts in time, and since all natural 
force is a material one, it follows that all material force is 
modified by time, that is, time determines the form and dis- 
position of all force ; in other words it is the form and disposi- 
tion of material atoms that vary, because absolute force 
itself neither is nor can be increased nor diminished. Time 
and force in this philosophy are convertible. And no force 
is ever lost, but the instant that the time of any force has 
run its assigned course it commences a transferred exertion 
in some other form or direction, so the action of any force 
produces an equivalent force of some different kind. In all 
these instances, where the form of the force varies in con- 
vertible shapes, it is the subtle modification or change of 
material atoms that is engaged in determining the form and 
disposition of natural force, and thus without matter there is 
no phenomena of any kind that can possibly have any effect 
upon the human mind. Here then was Sakya's atheism 
of supernaturalism, but it does not therefore follow that it 
was atheism to nature. To that theistic philosophy of which 
Sakya was a prophet it had a proper scientific bearing. This 
relation has perished in the bastard traditional edition that 
has been handed down to modern times, and which is really 



262 ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 

nothing more than Brahminism in a modified form, which has 
done for Sakya what Brahminized Buddhism has in its turn 
achieved for Jesus of Nazareth. 

Sakya is conventionally held to have conjured up an un- 
conscious power as an object of worship. But this is absurd, 
— he taught that Deity was not SELF-conseious as man is 
SELF-conscious. He argued that human sorrow arises from 
selfish consciousness and desires, and that man needs redemp- 
tion from selfish desire and selfish existence. 

M. Abel Remusat, in his "Melanges Asiatiques," when he 
refers to the doctrine of the followers of Taosze or Laotze, 
the Doctor of Reason, a contemporary of Confucius, remarks 
as follows, — 

" Like many other founders of religious systems he was 
" far from foreseeing the direction of the doctrines that he 
" taught would take in future ages, and should he ever 
" appear again upon earth, he would have much cause to 
" complain of the wrong done to him by many disciples." 

This is precisely what I contend for in the case of all 
prophets ; I have suggested it as being so in Sakya's case. I 
feel warranted in asserting the same for Mahomet, and it is 
past all controversy surely, that it applies to what Moses and 
Jesus of Nazareth taught. Not one of these teachers would 
recognise their doctrines in the writings of their self-con- 
stituted expounders and saints after their departure. One 
and all would find the virus of an old traditional theism 
corrupting the body of their philosophy. 

Of Laotze, M. Hue continues, — 

"Instead of the head of a set of jugglers, magicians, and 
" astrologers, seeking for the elixir of immortality, and the 
" means of reaching heaven by raising themselves through 
" the air, I found him in his book, a true philosopher, a 
"judicious moralist, an eloquent theologian, and a subtle 
" metaphysician ; his style has the majesty of Plato, and 
" something of his obscurity. He describes the Deity exist- 
" ing before chaos, as one being, immense, silent, immovable, 
" yet incessantly active, the mother of the universe, or 
" reason. In the metaphysics of Laotze, or old child, 



PLATO INDEBTED TO LAOTZE FOR HIS MYSTICISM. 263 

" (because born white haired,) we have high abstractions and ' 
" inextricable subtleties, in which his Oriental imagination 
" wanders and loses itself, but not ridiculous fables, or 
" monstrous absurdities. It bears impress of a noble and 
" elevated mind, and in the sublime reveries that distinguish 
" them, they present a striking and indisputable resemblance 
" to the doctrines afterwards professed by Pythagoras 
<c and Plato. Like Pythagoras he regards human souls 
c< as emanations from the ethereal reason, after death re- 
" united with it ; and like Plato refuses to the wicked the 
" felicity of re- entering the bosom of the universal soul, and 
" like Plato, also attaches the chain of being to Him whom 
" he calls one, then from one proceeds two, from two three, 
" which three made all things. In one thing he is clear that 
" a three-fold being fills the universe." 

This dogma of the Trinity leavens all religions. In addi- 
tion to the Brahma, Seva, and Vishnu, of Hindustanee, and 
Boodh, Dhurma, and Sunga, of Thibet and Indo-China, we 
find it in the three principles of Chaldaic theology, in the 
numen triplex of Japan, in the Triplasios Mithra of Persia, 
in the South American three in one, or Tanga, Tanga, and 
even in Egypt, under the symbols of the wing, globe, and 
serpent. 

Plato was evidently not an original thinker. The truth is 
there has been nothing originated either by Plato or 
Pythagoras. Thought is a growth, and the human mind is 
nourished by surrounding impressions, which no man can 
originate of himself. No man comes into existence with 
innate or intuitive ideas, he must learn, and the highest re- 
commendation that can be spoken of as possessed by any man is 
this, that he possesses a perfectly unbiassed mind, enabling him 
to give correct judgment from the evidence brought before 
him. Let a man do this and he will be original in spite of 
himself, for he aims not to originate but to judge, and his 
originality is simply the separation of the wheat from the 
vast heap of mere chaff that is given him to operate upon. 

The school of Grecian philosophy, of which Plato and his 
admirers were the head, was nothing but Orientalism 



264 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



modified by the cast of the more active brain of the western 
nation. This philosophy was no inconsiderable leaven in 
early Christianism, and Paul, in his Epistles, laboured hard to 
convince the Gentiles, upon the basis of our own philosophy, 
that what he taught was reasonable and true to cosmical 
science. 

It may be asked what has Indo-Chinese metaphysics to do 
with the subject? The answer is that it has much to do with 
it, when we find rabbinical and Grecian philosophy and 
theology leavened with the muddy mysticism of Asiatic 
transcendentalisms, and when it is shewn that the Christianism 
of the early ages gave way before the vast flood of turbid 
waters that surged into Syria and Europe eastwards from 
Indo- China and Hindustan. 

Abbe Hue lias left an imperishable monument of his 
labours in China, and he speaks of that country thus: — 

" Chinese civilization originates in antiquity so remote that 
K we vainly endeavour to discover its commencement. There 
" are no traces of a state of infancy among the people, and 
" it would not be rash to conjecture that some mysierious 
tf event of the highest importance must have brought the 
" Chinese suddenly to the point at which we find them. 
" There is something profoundly mysterious in the ancient 
" civilization which has been able to resist to this day the 
" flux and reflux of so many revolutions, and save itself from 
" ruin." 

Abbe Hue gives an amusing sample of the thoroughly 
saturated theological condition of his mind, he is as arrant a 
priest as ever breathed. 

Hear him : — 

" Buddhists attach importance to certain words in prayer, 
" and think to purify themselves by mere articulation of holy 
" syllables, and effect their salvation by much prayer." 

Now for this absurd expenditure of time, labour, and breath, 
they are rebuked by a certain Chinese imperial magistrate, 
who argues logically enough that no judge will pardon trans- 
gressors for the sake of their mere bawling, Lord, Lord, 
Lord, forgive, forgive, forgive us. 



ABBE HUC ON CHINESE RELIGION. 265 



M. Hue is wrath at this. This priest, true to his pater- 
nostering, bead telling, gesticulating school of theists, says 
that this commissioner's rebuke tends to nothing less than the 
destruction of all ideas of worship or homage to God, and 
that it is nothing but a lesson in atheism addressed by a ruler 
to his subjects ! 

And yet M. Hue calls himself a Christian minister! a 
teacher of the religion of Jesus Christ, who said in effect just 
what the Chinese ruler did, that much prayer was heathenism, 
and he cautioned his disciples against an absurd practice that 
was opposed to the true religion of action, saying to his 
followers, " Your Father in heaven knows your wants before 
" you ask him, do not imitate the heathen who think they 
ee shall be heard for their much praying." Avoid public ex- 
hibitions of your worship, and if you pray do so where no 
eye can see you. Ask of God power to do his will, power 
to resist your evil self-will, and forgiveness in proportion 
as you forgive your enemies, that is have nothing to forgive, 
that you may yourself be free from offence. Seek your 
bread from him who says man shall not live by bread 
alone, and leave all the pharasaic show of prayer, psalm sing- 
ing, and public exhibitions of piety to those who are so 
blind as not to see their foolishness. 

M. Hue calls the sensible expostulation of the commis- 
sioner a lesson in Atheism, because the said ruler recom- 
mends " less of the talk and more of the do." He might, 
with equal show of reason, say the same of the angel of the 
Lord, who said to Moses, why do you stand still and cry to 
me, tell the people to march on ? Jesus likened a man who 
was always bead telling, praying, and psalm singing, to one 
who promised to do his parent's will, and yet never did it, 
whereas another who despised mere profession and musical 
performance, was one who hesitated or declined to do his 
father's work, and yet afterward repented, and went cheer- 
fully to work. And to clench his expostulation, he said just 
what the Chinese ruler did, that not the mere bawlers and 
singers of Lord, Lord, Lord, but those who did his Father's 
will should inherit the promised kingdom of eternal life. 



266 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES 



Hue accuses the commissioner of atheism; now in the 
Chinese law there is a precept to this effect : — 

" If any common person should attempt to hold coramu- 
" nion with the chief God, or make known his desires or 
" wants to God, after the manner adopted by the emperor, 
" he shall receive sixty-five blows with a bambo on the soles 
Cf of his feet. If the offence be repeated the culprit shall be 
" strangled." 

Whew! 

" Sons of burnt fathers, what means this position, 
How dare ye kneel down without our permission ?" — Brouyh. 

Well, but how does the celestial emperor pray ? 

The following was composed by authority for the emperor 
of China's sole and particular use, in 1802, to be offered to 
" Tien," the Lord of heaven. 

" Kneeling, a memorial is hereby presented to cause 
"affairs to be heard. O imperial heaven, were not my 
" kingdom afflicted by extraordinary changes I would not 
" dare to present extraordinary sacrifices. But this season 
" the drought, and want of refreshing moisture, is most 
" unusual, summer is long past, but no rain is fallen. I, the 
" Son of heaven, am minister to the Lord of heaven, and 
" am placed over mankind, being responsible for keeping the 
es world in order, and tranquillizing the people ; and although 
" it is now impossible for me to eat or sleep with composure, 
" although I am dried up with grief and tremble with fear, 
" still after all no copious showers have fallen. Some days 
tc ago I fasted, and offered rich sacrifices to the gods of the 
" earth and its produce, and had to be thankful for gathering 
" clouds and slight showers, but not enough to make my 
" heart glad. Looking up, I consider that heaven's heart is 
cc benevolence and love ; the sole cause of drought is the 
" atrocity of my sins, which I repent of with too little 
" sincerity and devotion, hence have I not been able to 
fC move heaven's compassion to send down genial showers. 
" Having respectfully searched the records, I find that in 
" the twenty-fourth year of Keen-lung, my imperial grand- 



EMPEROR OP CHINA'S PRAYER TO DEITY. 267 



« father, the high, the honourable, and pure emperor, 
" reverently performed a great snow service. I feel im- 
66 pelled by ten thousand considerations to look up and 
" imitate the usage. Prostrate I beg imperial heaven to 
" pardon my ignorant stupidity, and to grant me self reno- 
t{ vation, for myriads of innocent people are involved by me, 
" a single man. My sins are so numerous it is difficult to 
(( escape from them ; summer is past, autumn arrived, to 
es wait longer is impossible. Knocking my head nine times 
" on the ground, I pray imperial heaven to hasten and con- 
st f Qr g rac i ous deliverance, a speedy and divinely beneficial 
" rain to save the people's lives, and in some degree redeem 
" my iniquities. O imperial heaven, observe these things, 
" be gracious, I tremble with fear. In great reverence this 
" memorial is presented." 

What a miserably yelping whine it is. He trembles, and 
is all of a sweat, for what ? Clearly he fears the mob, for if 
they do know what stops the rain, and that their emperor is 
the Jonah of the nation, it is highly probable that they 
might add one democratic knock to his majesty's aristocratic 
and sacred nine kotous, which might prove just one knock 
too many, and call for the immediate publication in the 
Pekin Gazette of a royal proclamation, announcing the fact 
of the emperor's having taken upon himself the most high 
and imperial prerogative of immortality and returned to 
heaven from whence he set out to air his celestial faculties 
in his lower dominions. 

It is a national, political, commercial, and social crisis. 
Look here, says he, just look here, here's a go, no rain, and 
I am responsible for keeping the people down ; but law bless 
you, what is a poor fellow to do if he is not backed up in 
heaven ? I have gone as far as fasting from all victuals and 
drink, which constitute the chief of my diet, and I have 
offered sacrifices to all the gods in the court guide, but still 
no rain. The people are impatient, and I am in a fright, ten 
thousand considerations conspire to make me sudorifically 
pious at this crisis, not the least of which is anxiety for my 
throne and life, and consequently I do not feel it derogatory 



268 ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 

to my dignity to follow the precedent of those of my 
ancestors, who have the honour to figure in the sublime 
records of heaven's imperial chancery. The danger is 
imminent, and my time is precious, so this memorial of the 
undersigned respectfully sheweth that your royal petitioner, 
as in duty bound, will ever pray when he wants what he is 
legally entitled to get, so God save the emperor. 

M. Hue relates an anecdote of the style in which the 
Chinese cold-shouldered his propagandizing zeal. He was 
told by one attempted convert, that his ideas of religion 
were all very well in their way and undoubtedly true, but 
" religions are many, reason is one," said John Chinaman, 
and the priest says that this is " a deplorable conclusion." 
"Well, but, Hue, my good fellow, pray don't get your nation 
to try the musket and bayonet dodge, for consider if your 
Iiusso-Franco system of propagating orthodoxy at the can- 
non's mouth, is not certain to find a fitting reward some sun- 
shiny day, not very far off. And by the way, I see you 
regret much, that Chinese customs do not lead them to pray, 
or have masses performed for their dead. Indeed, 'tis an 
infidel bias, much to be deplored. The ignorant mob, you 
remark, do indeed continue dead offerings, but these offer- 
ings to the defunct, are as you truly say, " quite mechanical, 
ec without thinking of any meaning." And again, " It is 
" impossible to believe that they can delude themselves so 
" grossly." From which I gather that you consider these 
offerings to the dead are mere traditional etiquette, and you 
regret that they do not substitute masses for their departed, 
and perhaps canonize their saints. The scepticism of these 
Chinese as to the superior efficacy of Europeanized Budd- 
hism is certainly deplorable, but blind and bigoted prejudice, 
worthy father, is as rampant in Europe as it is on the banks 
of the Yang~tze~kiang. You shall be gridironed and roasted 
over your own church's fire. Thus you come to judgment. 
You say : — 

"The worship of ancestors, which formerly occasioned 
" such long and deplorable disputes between the Jesuit 
" missionaries and the Dominicans, may perhaps be regarded 



PRAYING FOR THE DEAD IN ASIA AND EUROPE. 269 



" in the same light as these offerings to the dead. Rome 
" took effectual measures to prevent the recurrence of these 
<c unfortunate dissentions that have proved more injurious 
te to the missions in China than the violent persecutions of 
" the mandarins." 

Yet this papal concern brags to high heaven unceasingly, 
about the unit?/ of its creed ! Confessedly the rock upon 
which these priests split to pieces, is the very one, about the 
ee dead" after all. Then why set about preaching and per- 
verting the poor Chinese, if the knotty point respecting dead 
services is not settled in Europe. If there is any European 
God of the dead, where, and who is he ? 

No small part of Europeanism consists in saying mass, and 
praying for the dead, but priests never have established any 
Deity of the dead yet, so that all their time and labour is 
but grinding the wind. 

Major Abbott, a traveller through Russia, writing of 
what he saw in Moscow, that city of choice orthodoxy, 
says : — 

" Nothing that I have seen among the Hindoos and 
te Boodhists descends lower upon the scale of reason than 
" this, and yet over all, the divine spirit of Jesus has shed a 
" softening radiance that gives to the practical morality of 
" the Russians an infinite pre-eminence over the purer wor- 
" ship of the Mohammedan world. The intolerance that has 
" crept like a toad or a viper into almost every sect calling 
" itself Christian, belongs to man's perverted nature and not 
" to the holy precepts that religion instils." 

What is intolerant Christianity, or rather, what has the 
teaching of Jesus to do with the rabid intolerance of theo- 
logians ? He preached against theology, not in its favour. 
The present church system in Europe is really nothing but 
an ecclesiastical diploma to practice blood letting by royal 
command. 

Blackwood's Magazine for August, 1858, contained a 
comparative estimate of the various military forces in 
Europe, ready in a few months for their bloody trade, 
showing how completely the old Roman pagan empire was 



270 



ASIATIC MYSTERIES. 



behind any of the five great Christian powers (so called,) 
who are supposed to be constantly employed in preaching, 
" Peace on earth, and good will towards men." 

The writer in Blackwood remarks : — 

" The military power of pagan Rome has been pretty 
" accurately estimated at 450,000 men. The Christian 
" monarchies of France and Austria are each reported to 
" maintain an army of about 600,000 men. Prussia may 
" be 400,000. Russia larger even than either France or 
" Austria ; and Great Britain without her marine force, 
<f might easily muster 200,000 on one point in a few weeks. 
" Belgium has 100,000, and Holland 60,000 armed men." 
The conclusion is as follows : " Hitherto everything has 
" tendered to develop the military power in Christendom ! " 

To develop the military power in Christendom ! What an 
extraordinary comment this is, nearly nineteen hundred years 
after the founder of Christianity warned his rash and hot- 
headed disciples that the appeal to the sword to establish an 
empire or principle must necessarily end in the destruction 
of the power so supported, since judgment invocates judgment, 
and thus the authority that appeals to, and is sustained by, 
military force, shall ultimately perish by the antagonism 
of rival powers. 



271 



CHAPTER XII. 

ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 

No true estimate can be formed of the difficulties which 
Jesus of Nazareth had to overcome during his mission, with- 
out some knowledge of the peculiar theological opinions that 
were then held by what are usually denominated the 
educated classes, which include the priests and such literati 
as are more immediately connected with them than with other 
professions. 

In those lectures to young men upon the connection 
between science and religion, by the Rev. Hy. Christmas, 
alluded to in our third chapter, we find it stated that when any 
difficulty presents itself to the careful student of the Hebrew 
scriptures, it is capable of being overcome by reference to the 
tradition of the Jews on the ambiguous point in question. 
But this is wholly at variance with Jesus' plainly expressed 
declaration that these theological traditions, so far from 
being valuable, had resulted in making the law of the Eternal 
of no effect. 

In 1 856, Dr. Edersheim published a work entitled " His- 
tory of the Jews," and as it is a book suited for such popular 
reference as the mass of readers can afford at present to de- 
vote to the investigation of the subject, attention is directed 
to it. For present purposes the few following extracts are 
given. Dr. Edersheim remarks,— 

f< When the spiritual reality indicated by the type was lost 
" sight of, and the latter was mistaken for the reality itself, 
" a direction altogether new and erroneous was given to re- 



272 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



" ligious thinking, which might be indefinitely followed out, 
" but which the more it was prosecuted led the nearer to 

" apostasy." 

" To prove some fanciful hypothesis the very rules of 
" grammar and construction of sentences were violated. 

" The exact meaning of words was determined sometimes 
u by tradition, but if necessary an unusual application of a 
" term was devised. Words were separated into two, or ex- 
" plained by other and similarly sounding words ; sometimes 
" they were traced to cognate languages, or their meanings 
" elicited from parallel passages. Similarly the slightest hint 
" was eagerly watched, and the proper vowel points, (the 
" Hebrew being written only with consonants,) or their con- 
" nection set aside. The first letter of the alphabet was 
" exchanged for the last, the second for the one before the 
" last, and so on. Or the twenty-two letters were divided 
" into two parts, and the first interchanged with the twelfth, 
" the second with the thirteenth, &c. Still more arbitrary 
" methods were employed, as Gematria, by which the 
fi numerical value of the letters was ascertained and the text 
" interpreted accordingly, and Notarikon, by which every 
" letter of a word was made the initial letter of a new word. 
" Everything good and high was always connected with God, 
" the name * Jehovah' indicating 'his grace,' that of ' Elshim' 
" 'his justice.' In fact everything that could possibly be 
" twisted into a difficulty, was made the subject of lengthened 
" discussion, sometimes at the expense of common decency. 

" The theological teaching of the Jewish Hagadists was a 
"jumble of material or vulgar literalisms, with spiritualisms 
" wholly ideal and rationalistic, introducing a large amount 
" of metaphysical abstractions of heathen philosophy. It 
" was held that a number of diverse comments might law- 
" fully be attached to one and the same passage of scripture, 
" and that all were equally correct." 

"In attempting to arrange the doctrinal views of the 
" rabbins, we are bewildered by a mass of erroneous, bias- 
" phemous, and even contradictory statements. They held 
" that Moses' superior knowledge of the law was such that 



DK. EDERSHEIM'S HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 273 



" God himself left the heavens and came to him, that angels, as 
" well as sun, moon, and stars sung their hymns to him, and the 
" latter obtained Moses' permission to enlighten the world. 
ss Moses performed the miracles himself as God." 

" The rabbins did not consider humility such a virtue of 
<e great merit as they might have done. Nay, they held that 
" a little pride was not only allowable, but necessary in one 
" of their class, because it was maintained that man's achieve- 
" ments in elucidating rabbinical lore were even greater than 
" the creation of heaven and earth. They held that sin clave 
" to every man from birth, and that he stood in continued 
" need of divine grace, and such wants were only supplied by 
" a continued course of divine studies." 

" The doctrine of the trinity and of the indwelling of the 
" Father in the Son, (or the Son in the Father ?) and his 
" manifestation by him could not have been wholly lost, 
" however they might in course of time have lost their 
" vitality, or become vitiated by admixture with foreign and 
" especially with Persian elements." 

But the Jewish theological idea of the trinity, appears to 
have been wholly derived from foreign or Oriental systems, and 
Dr. Edersheim himself admits the very remarkable agreement 
between Jewish transcendentalism and the last words of 
ancient theology, and again, that it bears a singular resem- 
blance to modern theism. But he contends that although 
this may be so, yet this Jewish mysticism was peculiar to 
itself, and wholly of native growth, so that it had two dis- 
tinct characteristics agreeing in feature, but differing in 
particulars, viz., the Kabbalah and the system of Philo 
Judasus, remarking as follows : — 

"The Kabbalah recognises God in his work or material 
te causation, but in every other respect he is inscrutable and 
" inconceivable. Every manifestation of Deity is f a world.' 
" All souls are simply a pouring out of the divine being. In 
" each instance the divine unity manifests itself as a trinity 
" consisting of opposites, connected with a middle link. 
" Everything is divine, and everything manifests itself as a 
" trinity in unity." 

T 



274 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



" The Alexandrian school represented God as a trinity con- 
" sisting of unity or goodness, understanding, and the world's 
" soul, or Demiurgus. A mutual influence seems to have 
" been exerted by Zoroaster (549 B.C.) and the Hebrew 
" exiles in Babylon." 

"The Persian and Jewish cabalistic superstitions fre- 
" quently agree, as with reference to the origin, the number, 
" and power of evil spirits, the events immediately after 
" death ; and like the Kabbalah of the Jews, the system of 
" the magi propounded the pre-existence of souls, the contest 
" between the good and evil principles in man, the peculiar 
" notions about the spiritual principle, the doctrine of the 
" final conversion of the evil principle, and the restitution of 
" all things. The corruptions of the Kabbalah are mainly 
" due to the Persian influence, nor can we be greatly mis- 
" taken when we trace to these mystical elements the origin 
" of eastern and western Gnosticism, and thus account for 
" the fact that so speedily after the planting of Christianity 
" heresies should have arisen, which, although the fundamental 
" principles were diametrically opposed to those of the 
" gospel, still numbered so many adherents." 

In another place, Dr. Edersheim says of this Kabbalah, 
that the spiritual elements of Judaism were mixed up with 
the philosophy of the Babylonian religion, and the neo- 
Platonism of Egypt. 

Exactly, "birds of a feather flock together ;" but the fore- 
going admissions do not bear out the assertion that Jewish 
mysticism was all of native growth. 

Speaking of the doctrines of Philo, Dr. Edersheim says, — 

" The statements of Philo and others concerning the 
" divine word or Logos, resemble only those of Platonism or 
" Gnosticism, and are thoroughly unlike the gospel statement 
" that the word became flesh." 

This theism of Philo is worthy of note, because he 
evidently tried his best to reconcile Platonism with Judaism. 
Dr. Edersheim says that Philo became acquainted with 
Jewish mystic doctrines from their mystic sects, and did not 
seize the salient points of Judaism direct from their canonical 



THEOLOGY OF THE KABBALISTIC SYSTEM. 275 



scriptures, but from their traditional and rationalistic teach- 
ing; and the essayist says that Philo, in his system, clung 
tenaciously to the strict letter of the scripture, but made 
it bear an interpretation of profound mystic meaning and 
form as a whole, one connected allegory, and that, like the 
Jewish Kabbalah, Philo's last word is pantheism. 

In addition to the writings of the Hagada and Halacha, 
the writer of the History of the J ews mentions and gives 
extracts from two cabalistic works, one called the Sepher 
J ezirah and the second the Sohar, ascribed to the rabbins, but 
the precise authorship of which is a matter of lively controversy. 

The Jewish Halacha was made equal in importance to 
their canonical scriptures ; and as for the Hagada, it abounded 
in absurd legends and balderdash, of that wholly unqualified 
description that makes it marvellous how any rational men 
should spend their valuable time in conning over its rash 
lucubrations. 

The rabbins were agreed as to the essential unity of Deity, 
and the divine inspiration of their canonical scriptures, but 
the first was readily overlooked or explained away whenever 
found inconvenient, and the latter was made subservient 
to their own absurd commentaries. They flattered them- 
selves that to belong outwardly by admission by the rite of 
circumcision to their elect race, constituted a man a member 
of the kingdom of God, and that obedience to their law was 
conducive to longevity, and procured eternal happiness, 
moreover, that man by proper exercise of his own free will 
might obtain purity and perfection upon earth, and then 
claim the estate of immortality. Prayer was held to be 
essential for temporal blessings, and that the study of their 
law and commentaries thereon, was necessary for spiritual 
benefits. But fulfilling this law was degraded into commit- 
ting it to memory, to be repeated upon occasional outbursts 
of piety, in the style of the praying cylinders fashionable in 
the East. 

It was held that learning in this law saved departed sages 
from eternal punishment in hell fire. 

Of the two leading theological professors before Jesus' 

T 2 



276 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



day, Dr. Hillel, the leader of the Pharisees, summed up 
Judaism into one command, " Do not that to thy neighbour 
" that would be displeasing to thyself." Which is wholly a 
negative kind of friendship; besides Hillel narrowed the 
application of this rule of conduct by refusing to consider 
any " outsiders," even the Samaritans, to be neighbours ; 
and Dr. Shammai, the rival of Hillel, held just the same 
narrow views. There was no salvation outside of the pale of 
their church, all the world not inside their communion might 
go and be damned, as a happy burning up of so much 
rubbish. These doctors and proctors of theism taught, that 
those learned in the holy law of Judaism, were emancipated 
from the burden of conscientous scruples, and were allowed 
discretionary power when to speak truth and when to forge 
lies, and they compassed earth and sea to make proselytes as 
amiable as themselves. Certain rabbins of their particular 
persuasion were set apart to loose and bind, that is, to declare 
what was lawfully binding upon a man's conscience, and 
what was absolvable. 

Some of the results of the researches of these expounders 
and explainers of the sacred shasters are very remarkable. 
They held that the number of angels was strictly limited to 
eighteen thousand, and they also maintained that God's 
knowledge of the future was doubtful, and not prescience at 
all. Good and evil, said they, are independent powers, evil 
existed first in embryo, and man called it into active exercise, 
and it is an unclean spirit molesting God. They also hit 
upon the ingenious theory, that in the ordinary affairs of the 
world God takes no concern, but that Israel alone was under 
his special providence, while certain stars ruled the heathen 
nations. It was believed that study of their law ennobled 
the soul and fitted it for eternity, while purification and 
fasting promoted its well being. The consequences of deeds, 
and not the deeds of themselves, are to be regarded, because 
mental intentions, and not bodily acts, are to be judged of. 
They denied the omnipotence of Deity, for it was gravely 
maintained, that some angels act independently of God, and 
do actually proceed against his will ! 



THE SEPHER JEZIRAH AND SOHAR. 277 



From these cabalistic essays of the ancient Hebrew 
divines, we derive the following very curious, and to some 
no doubt, valuable and pleasing theistical information. That 
there may be a gleam of truth here, and there is true 
enough; but it is a miserable ha'p'orth of bread to an intoler- 
able deal of sack. From the " Sepher Jezirah," the student 
obtains this schedule of Deity's manifestation. A, God in 
the abstract — B, God entering into form or manifestation — 
C, God in form, from whence is derived all subsequent 
original realities. The ten numerals represent these realities, 
and the form is manifested by the twenty- two letters which 
constitute the alphabet ; thus language is the form in which 
the spiritual is made apparent and the connecting medium 
between the spiritual and the material. 

The Hebrew scriptures do certainly say, that the material 
word of Deity has been given in a definite form, as the 
Alpha and Omega of eternal wisdom, because " a word " is 
the material incarnation of thought, but the misconcepts of 
these theologians arose from their false philosophy of the 
human mind. We are informed that God created the world 
by thirty-two paths, and as "ten" is the sacred number 
of perfection, then by ten sefiroth or emanations, which 
recur everywhere, divine goodness revolves in triads, consist- 
ing of two opposites emanating from a superior triad, until 
the divine unity is reunited. These ten sefiroths are met 
with everywhere : in Deity, in man, and in the world. At 
the head of all is God manifest, as the Memra, Logos, or 
divine word. The twenty-two letters constitute the form of 
creation, and the ten sefiroth the material; thus God has 
made the soul of everything by employing these letters,, and 
ten sefiroth, to express in a material and definite form his 
ideas. 

The other cabalistic treatise, the Sohar, teaches us that 
the Logos, Memra, or throne is at the head of every mani- 
festation of Deity, appearing in the world as a spirit, in 
God as the angel of his presence, and in the man as the 
Adam Kadmon. 

To mankind God remains unknown even in the form 



278 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



revealed, but the rabbins were favoured with actual know- 
ledge, for God was said to sit on fire shining 100,000 miles, 
and that from his head 13,000 myriads of worlds annually 
distilled, and a peculiar dew to quicken the dead to new life, 
and for the manna or food of the highest saints in heaven, 
also upon the field of holy fruits or college of the cabalistic 
students. The length of this dew-distilling face is equal to 
370,000 myriads of worlds. By his " attributes " only can 
God be known, before this manifestation he is not himself. 
In revealing himself God first produced sefirah number one. 
From number one was produced number two, and this two 
produced the third. From this triad all others were evolved 
in turn. Each sefiroth has its proper name. The first 
sepirah, or crown, is the source whence issues infinite light, 
called " Boundless" indicating the supreme cause, which has 
neither form nor shape. This is the source of all wisdom, 
or the second sefirah, hence the supreme cause is termed the 
wise God. Then wisdom, or sefirah number two, constructed 
an immence receptacle like the sea, called understanding, or 
sefirah number three. These three, crown, wisdom, and 
understanding, are the first triad. Then follow mercy, judg- 
ment, beauty, triumph, glory, foundation, and kingdom in 
the shape of seven rivulets or sefiroth, together constituting 
the full revelation of God known as the Adam Kadmon, or 
celestial man, of which the terrestrial man is the duplicated 
copy. 

The speciality of sex was held to be as essential in soul as 
in body, and existed in the sefiroth which are male and 
female, as imparting and receiving, wisdom being male, 
and understanding (or formation?) being female. These 
sefiroth are one in the ancient of ancients, who is repre- 
sented with three heads. 

Is it accident that the Hindoo Trimurt is represented by 
the same three-headed symbol ? There is a scintillation of 
truth in these traditions, but it is very faint. The discourse 
is that of a man stuttering from the congress of cosmopolitan 
theologians at the tower of Babblement. 

But to continue. From the divine triad above, there pro- 



COSMOLOGY OF THE KABBALAH. 



279 



ceed two sefiroth, one being the male grace, and the other 
the female judgment, which are united in the middle as 
beauty. The male souls proceed from grace, and the female 
from judgment. Then follow two sefiroth, the male 
triumph and the female glory, united into the basis of the 
last sefirah or kingdom, the shechinah, which is the harmony 
of all the attributes, and their government over the world. 

This trigonometrical survey is mapped out into various 
forms. In one it constitutes three pillars, the male one 
being grace, the female judgment, and the middle one 
beauty, which last, as most important, is called holy king, and 
shechinah, as above. When the king, and queen, or beauty, 
and this shechinah are united, the fruit of their conjugal 
union is the descent of a soul, or its return to God. 

This programme of celestial performances is corroborated 
by the Kabbalah, which instructs us that the souls of men 
are not created with their bodies, but are pre-existent, being 
stored up in the female understanding. If the soul is to be 
a male it then passes through the male sefirah grace, but if 
female, through that of judgment, and before it comes into 
the world, the king comes to the queen in an act, which is 
to the soul, what conception is to the body. When the 
soul's mission has been fulfilled, and if worthy of return to 
God, the king and queen meet once more, and by their union 
the soul ascends. Without this royal pair the material 
world could not exist, for it depends upon this essential dif- 
ference of sex, which is necessary for continued existence, 
and may be traced upward to the highest orders of beings. 

The Kabbalah says, that matter without God is sin, and 
the purely material is essentially evil. Nothing can perish 
absolutely, it must sink into a place where everything is 
strict justice, and feminine in character, nothing being mas- 
culine. The old worlds have become the place where vice is 
punished, and their ruins have given birth to the devil and 
his angels, who are called " husks." 

Everything except sin, which is the purely material, is 
an emanation from God, by means of successive evolutions 
or developments, of which matter is the lowest form. Thus- 



280 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



creation was made out of nothing, that is, out of the original 
nought. 

This is a fair sample of the awful muddle theologians in- 
variably make of cosmology, where they insist upon the wide 
separation of mind and matter, and hypothesize the exist- 
ence of evil. Butler's philosopher in Hudibras was a savan 
of this erudite class. 

u As he professed, 
He had first matter seen undressed, 
He took her naked, all alone 
Before one rag of form was on ! " 

By and bye, however, these Cabalistic pundits unsay all 
that they have so dogmatically laid down about the existence 
of evil, and they assert that Satan himself will ultimately 
be reclaimed from his sinful courses, and everything will 
return, both body and soul, to the principle and root whence 
they issued. Sakya, the founder of the oriental mendicants, 
said something like this, and orthodox spouters of religion 
howl him down as an atheist ; at the same time they ignore 
King Solomon's statement in the Hebrew canonical scrip- 
tures, where he says of man's decease in Eccl. xii, 7, " Dust 
" to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God who gave 
" it." 

Cabalistic cosmology insists upon three worlds of sefiroth, 
called Olams. The first is Olam Azilah, or the world of 
emanation, whence flows number two, or Olam Beriah, the 
world of creation or of pure spirits, and Olam Jezirah the 
world of formation, or of angels, and last of all, there comes 
a fourth, the Olam Assijah, the world of action. 

The angels are divided into ten classes, they watch over 
the movements of the earth, moon, seasons, and growth of 
planets. 

All pure or inert matter, and its personification, Samael 
the angel of poison, together with his angels, occupy the 
fourth or more distant worlds. These devils, or husks, are 
further arranged into ten classes of degradation. 

Samael is the angel of death, and the evil inclination, and 



MYSTIC DOCTRINES OF THE IMMATERIALISTS. 281 

Satan is the accuser or serpent which seduced the first 
parents, Satan's wife is termed the harlot, and together they 
are represented as the beast. 

This tradition is referred to in the Apocalypse. 

Man created after the image of the Adam Kadmon, de- 
rives his chief dignity from the spiritual part within him, 
but his material frame bears close analogy to celestial 
things. Man's spiritual nature consists of three faculties, 
derived respectively from the three triads scheduled in 
a former trigonometrical survey of Deity. Man's three 
faculties are the intellect ; the soul, or seat of good and evil ; 
and spirit, the link of communication between the imma- 
terial and the material. Both soul and even the type of the 
body are pre-existent, and descend under fixed laws. Before 
birth, when the soul is about to leave its heavenly abode, it 
appears before the heavenly king arrayed in a glorious shape, 
and with the lineaments which it is to bear on earth. Souls 
are unwilling to leave heaven, but are obliged to descend for 
the elevation of matter, thus death is the happy release of 
imprisoned souls. Souls are either male or female. One 
complete soul including both sexes, which if the parties prove 
themselves worthy, will be re-united by marriage upon 
earth, that is to say, all souls before entering this world, 
consist of male and female, which are joined into one being, 
so when they descend to earth they separate into halves and 
animate different bodies. When a marriage is contracted, 
the holy and blessed one joins them on earth as they had 
formerly been united, and thus again they constitute one 
soul ; but this connection depends upon the conduct of men, 
and to enable them to acquire either merit or guilt, God has 
put within them a good and an evil inclination. Those who 
sin upon earth had previously commenced their apostacy in 
heaven. To expiate guilt, and prepare for final return to 
God, souls have to migrate, thus the transmigration of souls 
is a sure doctrine ! The soul of Abel, for instance, succes- 
sively wandered into Shem, and then into Moses, the con- 
stituent consonant of whose name in Hebrew are H. for 
Hebel, or Abel, Sh. for Shem, and M. for Moses. 



282 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



Ultimately all souls will merge into God, and thus Creator 
and creature will no longer be distinguished. 

It was maintained that all Adam's progeny shared his 
guilt, but virtuous conduct brought return of heavenly light, 
while the death of the sinless man was a real sacrifice, 
serving as an expiation of guilt. Hence saints are the 
sacrifice and expiation of the world, exercising an important 
inflnence with God, and causing a larger proportion of 
Divine essence to pour itself forth through the sefiroth into 
the world. 

The saints are defined to be such as have not given place 
to materialism, but are spiritualized by ascetic and exstatic 
exercises shaking off thereby material fetters or bodily 
impediments. God being in all and pervading all, rational 
creatures, may, therefore, by virtue of the divine inflatus, 
soar up to heaven by these ascetic gymnastics, and then 
contemplate perfection. The material world is a principle 
co-eternal with God, differing from, and therefore not pro- 
duced by him. The intellects of the wicked, or those who 
have not overcome their material incubus, do not return to 
God, the gates of Eden are closed against them, and their 
spirits find no rest upon earth. All sin is connected with 
and inherent in matter, and thus the material body is the 
seat and cause of moral (theological?) evil, and the poison of 
the immaterial soul. Virtue then consists in overcoming 
this material, when the released spirit rises to communion 
with God. Two bonds connect the human soul with matter, 
the first is that of necessity, the second of pleasure. The 
former cannot be loosened, the latter, or love of pleasure, 
(self?) is the source of evil. 

There exists an inferior Deity, the " Logos," or God mani- 
fest, standing midway between earth and heaven. 

The proofs of the existence of God from the visible 
creation are inferior to those obtained by soaring heaven- 
wards, without any material or external help, to an imme- 
diate contemplation of the Divine essence. 

The origin of the human race is accounted for, in one 
place, by supposing the whole atmosphere to be peopled 



SACERDOTAL HYPOTHESES OF CREATION. 283 



with higher beings than man, then some of these beings 
descended to earth, and meeting with material elements 
originated the human race. Mankind are said to unite in 
their nature four classes of beings, viz., plants ; those having 
souls; senses; and rational beings with self-determinating 
powers and responsibilities. Man is like the Logos, or 
" microcosm," of which the universe is the " macrocosm," 
and the intellectual faculties of man are not attributes of a 
definite cerebral organization like the rest of the animate 
world, but the human mind is the express image of the 
<e Logos " emanating direct from God himself. 

This " Logos" is the great connecting link between God 
and man, who is the mediator, the name of God, his vicar, 
and image. Relative to man this " Logos" is the first God, 
but to God as infinite and absolute he is only second, and 
neither unbegotten as the infinite existence is, nor begotten 
as man is. Wisdom is the spouse of the Most High, by 
whom he has begotten his only beloved and sensible son, the 
material universe. From this mystical union, all divine 
virtues and potencies spring. 

In one sense there is only one infinite God, while in 
another and relative sense there are many, that is, there are 
three divine potencies, the formative, the preservative, and 
the governing, over, and in, and through all, is the highest 
or God of Gods. The universe is held together by the 
combined operation of these three divine potencies, the 
" Logos" being an incarnation, embodiment, or materializa- 
tion of immaterial or incorporeal ideas springing from the 
mystical union of God and wisdom. The infinite or supreme 
God exists as inaccessible light, while the Logos exists in 
the first as its material sun or concentrated light, but 
nothing exists save as far as it is in God, and the infinite 
absorbs it in itself. 

Thus far there is incontestible evidence of the presence of 
a grand philosophical element, true to the leading axioms in 
logical, metaphysical, and cosmological science, although the 
mind is encumbered with the ragged and threadbare clothes 
of ancient and effete mystical self- stultifications. But now 



284 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



we are to drop down from the sublime to the ludicrous 
almost without warning. 

God was said to be chief rabbi in heaven, and his angels 
acted as assessors. In case of disagreement among them- 
selves this heavenly sanhedrim solved their difficult problems 
by taking the opinion of earthly sages. The Jewish theolo- 
gians discovered, through a medium best known to themselves, 
that Deity was incapable or unwilling to devote his whole 
time to business. They said that he spent three hours daily in 
study, three in the commissariat department, providing pro- 
visions for the world, three in playing with leviathan, and 
only three in governing the universe, and this is only twelve 
hours altogether ! 

Then with reference to the existence of evil spirits, they 
were divided into two classes. Number one comprised all 
those who had originally been good angels, and the second 
lot included only their progeny by carnal intercourse with 
females of the human race! Lot number two, however, 
was further subdivided into two sorts, the first being the 
offspring of the devils in chief, and Adam and Eve, and the 
other being the progeny of male devils and the daughters of 
ordinary men. It seems that after the death of his son 
Abel, Adam deserted Eve, his lawful wife, and joined two 
she devils, named respectively Naama and Selith, the concu- 
bines of Samael the angel of poison, and this Samael re- 
venged himself by "taking up with" Eve, and between 
them they gave to the world Asmodi, the chief of the devils. 
Again it is gravely stated that Adam, after his fall, possessed 
a whole harem of she devils, and that Eve's adulterous inter- 
course with evil spirits, and especially with the serpent 
seducer, was shameless and unrestrained, The issue of 
these piggish doings was the breeding of a vast herd of 
demons, and sin was begotten into the heart of the human 
race. The Israelites were, however, purged from the bad 
blood gendered by these evil demons in consequence of the 
presence of their forefathers at Mount Sinai. 

How fearfully Jesus of Nazareth must have shocked their 
intuitive convictions, by telling them that these said fore- 



THEOLOGICAL DEGKADATION OF HEALTHY SENSE. 285 



fathers had perished for ever. " Your fathers ate manna 
" and are dead, " said he. 

It was maintained that these evil (or theological ?) spirits 
had three faculties or attributes peculiar to angels, and three 
in common with the human race ; that is, they had wings, 
could fly, and knew the future, and like men they eat 
drank, propagated their species, and died! So much for 
logic in theology, this overthrows by inference the immor- 
tality of the human soul. 

The Talmud speaks of four parts in the human soul, the 
fourth being a kind of inward and spiritual grace which God 
gives to the Israelites every sabbath, and which returns to 
God at the close of every weekly festival. 

The squalling of newly-born infants was accounted for in 
this ingenious way ; it was said, that before a child sees the 
light of day, an angel shows it the glories of heaven, and 
the torments of hell, then beats it with a stick, and drives it 
into the world, hence the beaten infant comes crying into 
existence. 

The consequence of Adam's fall amounted to this, that 
liability and proneness to sin had become natural to man, 
not that death had passed upon all men as connected with 
Adam. 

Proneness to sin does not amount to actual sinfulness, but 
is merely an inclination, and tendency to evil. 

At the age of thirteen a good inclination makes itself felt, 
and then a struggle between good and evil commences. 
After death the soul hovers a long time about the body. 
Besides the good who go straight to heaven, and the wicked 
who go headlong down to hell, there is a medium class who 
are purified by fire for twelve months ; but Israelites are not 
liable to this purgatorial refining, unless the peculiar bodily 
mark of their descent had become effaced ! 

Fancy, now, the post-mortem investigation of the Devil 
and his assistants upon the body of a subject of doubtful 
circumcision ! 

There exist in man two inclinations, called respectively the 
" Jezer Job," or good, and the " Jezer-ha-ra," or evil inclina- 



286 



ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION. 



tions, both come from God. To shut up the Jezer-ha-ra the 
most effectual means is study of the law. According to the 
" Sohar" evil is necessary to make virtue possible. 

When souls appear before the great Judge he puts good 
works into one scale and evil into the other, and awards 
heaven and hell in proper proportion to preponderance of 
good or evil. 

Some saints collect a superfluity of merits available for 
others. One saint, ycleped Simon-ben-jochai, boasted of his 
superfluous merits, that they were enough to atone for the 
sins of the world to the end of time. 

In strict accordance with the peculiar charity of all theo- 
logians, they held that heretics and infidels are incapable of 
penitence, and consequently that any crime against their 
lives and bodies is justifiable. 

Perfect saints have the privilege of descending into the 
infernal regions when necessary, and might fish up those who 
had repented on earth, but had been prevented by death 
from making satisfaction. 

Condemned criminals, if unwilling to confess, were ad- 
monished to exclaim, " May my death be the expiation of my 
" sins!" 

If a man was tortured by an uneasy conscience, he was 
directed to seek expiation of his sins by studying the law, 
and to look to his personal sufferings, his merits, and works 
of kindness, together with his final death agony, and these 
together would procure his pardon. 

From the foregoing average sample of the bulk of ancient 
Jewish theological tradition, some estimate may be made of 
the condition of the literate mind of the nation when Jesus 
exclaimed, tc Father, I thank thee that thou hast hidden these 
" things from the wise and learned, and has revealed them 
" unto infants," that is infants in erudition. 

Jesus avoided the literate when he selected his followers. 
He sought to educate or draw out the powers of the minds 
of the plain, straight-seeing, unprejudiced, and theistically 
illiterate men; and when we see the condition of the learned 
in divinity in those days the reason is obvious. For of true 



ARROGANCE OF SELF-CONSTITUTED SAINTS. 287 



religion, in his highest sense of philosophical faith in the 
necessary dependence of man upon the infinite and unseen, 
none are so truly ignorant as the theological class. And as 
it was in the days of Noah, so it was in Jesus' day, and so 
it is now. 

The Jewish theists conspired to destroy Jesus because he 
shewed them that with all their " brag " of election to salva- 
tion they knew not God, that their theory of regeneration 
was false in theory and in practice, and that they were not 
the children of God because descendants of Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob. The Hebrew collection of writings called 
Genesis, or the cosmogony of the begetting, speaks of two 
distinct races, sons of God and children of men; but, 
although it speaks of their intermarrying, it does not follow 
that their children were all necessarily children of God. 
For in the instance of Abraham's children, Isaac alone 
inherited the promised immortality as the anointed son ; and 
of Jacob's two sons, born at the same time, one was taken 
and the other left to perish. The operation of this process 
of divine generation has nothing whatever to do with the 
opus operatum of the sacerdotalist's ordinances or mysterious 
rites. Nothing can well be conceived as being more out- 
rageously indecent and blasphemous than for men to finger 
one another's heads, and profess to convey in such handiwork 
the unspeakable majesty of the holy spirit of life. They 
claim this power, and yet are absolutely impotent even to 
loose the bands of a stuttering tongue ; nay, so complete is 
their imbecility, that one well educated and experienced 
physician is of more use to suffering humanity than the 
collected powers of every priest and parson upon the face of 
the earth, and yet the order of ministers that Jesus of Naza- 
reth established was that of ct mendicant physicians " in the 
truest sense of the word. When their successors sickened 
of their mendicant poverty, they lost their faith, and when 
they lost that, they were without diplomas, and turned to 
magic and juggling antics to make up for the loss of true 
science ! 



288 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MESSIANIC. 

It is a true saying that, without the power of detecting 
error, man 1ms no means of establishing the truth. So, 
before proceeding to consider the scriptural statements and 
predictions respecting the character and offices of the 
" Messiah," it will be instructive to investigate the nature of 
the talk of orthodox theists respecting their interpretation 
of these Hebrew writings. Here, for instance, is the Rev. 
C. H. Spurgeon, conventionally styled the great preacher of 
the age, who has given to the world, through the medium of 
the press, his sermon of the 31st October, 1859, delivered at 
the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens, taking for the text 
of his discourse Rev. xix, 12, "On his head were many 
" crowns." The preacher takes for granted that the rider on 
the white horse (sheets of the press?) means Jesus of 
Nazareth, who wears, Mr. Spurgeon says, three sorts of 
crowns, viz., crowns of dominion, crowns of victory, and 
crowns of thanksgiving ; amplifying the argument thus : — 

e< Side by side with this bright crown behold another. It 
" is the iron crown of hell, for Christ reigneth there supreme. 
" Not only in the dazzling brightness of heaven, but in the 
" black impenetrable darkness of hell is his omnipotence felt 
<c and his sovereignty acknowledged. The chains which 
" bind damned spirits are the chains of his strength ; the 
" fires which burn are the fires of his vengeance ; the burning 
" rays which scorch through their eyeballs and melt their 
" very heart are flashed from his vindictive eye. There is 



THE SPURGEON GOSPEL. 



289 



" no power in hell besides his. The very devils know his 
" might. He chained the great dragon. If he give him 
" temporary liberty yet is the chain in his hand, and he can 
" draw him back lest he go beyond his limit. Hell trembles 
" at him. The very howlings of lost spirits are but the deep 
" bass notes of his praise. While in heaven the glorious 
" notes shout forth his goodness, in hell the deep growlings 
" resound his justice, and his certain victory over his foes !" 

This is not a very pleasing or endearing description of the 
character and offices of the Christ of the eternal Father, but 
of course, if Mr. Spurgeon fails to establish any sufficient 
authority from the Bible for his peculiar interpretation of 
the Greek text, he may plead divine inspiration ; for all this 
class of preachers of the gospel of hell-fire fall back upon 
that reserve force, when their main line of defence has been 
routed by free and independent thinkers. 

If Mr. Spurgeon can fairly and honestly demonstrate the 
fact of his possessing the direction and plenary inspiration of 
the Spirit of life, to guide him in this application of a horribly 
vindictive and savagely repulsive office to Jesus Christ, then 
the argument must be concluded, and a verdict given in his 
favour. But a little further on the preacher pauses, over- 
come, as he says, by the majesty of his subject; and so, 
instead of continuing his perorations, he breaks off to proceed 
with what he calls acting the part of a seraph, by exclaiming, 
t( Holy, holy, holy art thou, Lord God of hosts." This idea of 
the nature of seraphic strains is very vague indeed, for it is 
expressly stated that the peculiarity of the seraph's praise 
consists in the fact of its being unceasing, untiring, or 
eternal; so that between this ceaseless performance of the 
seraphim, and the parenthetic interjection of a parson 
" gravelled for lack of matter," there is all the difference in 
the world. Again, in this same sermon, Mr. Spurgeon says, 
that he is preaching in his own spirit against wind and tide ; 
complaining that he gets nothing for himself even if he gives 
anything to his patient auditory, which it appears he thus 
admits to be very doubtful. Now this complaint is either 
querulous talking at the Holy Spirit for leaving him in the 

u 



290 



MESSIANIC. 



lurch, declining to prompt a puzzled parson in spouting 
extempore twaddle, or it is addressed to his congregation for 
not visibly sympathising with his distress, or it is simply a 
candid confession that he has really got nothing to talk 
about, and does not know how to say that nothing so as to 
make it appear to be something. It is but too plain that 
this preacher of orthodox theism is fixed in the above 
trilemma ; but as for getting nothing; from his flock in return 
for giving them nothing, it is generally understood that he 
gets his salary paid him as per agreement, and thus, if he is 
punctually paid for talking nonsense, he supplies the demand 
as per contract; so that the theological account current is 
balanced with interest pro et con when the stamped receipt 
is duly handed over, and there remains no balance to be 
brought down to his credit as a reward on the day of 
judgment. 

In another part of his sermon Mr. Spurgeon says that 
Christ is King of kings, and he is his poor brother. It seems 
strange that any man should claim relationship to one whom 
he makes chief ruler of the infernal regions, and of whom 
he draws a portrait that might serve for a likeness of old 
Scratch, and Pluto in Europe, of Siva or Kali in Asia, or some 
other heathen deity of a like amiable character. 

Mr. Spurgeon asserts that on the head of Jesus of 
Nazareth is the crown of creation. He says, "All things 
" were made by him, and without him (Jesus) was not any- 
" thing made that was made. His voice said let light be, 
" and light was. It was his strength that piled the 
s< mountains, and his wisdom balances the clouds. He 
" (Jesus) is creator. If you lift your eyes to the upper 
f< spheres and behold yon starry worlds, he made them. 
" They are not self-created. He struck them off like sparks 
" from the anvil of his omnipotence. The earth must die, 
* c the sun must grow dim with age, and nature sink into 
<e years, if Christ supplied it not with perpetual strength. 
a His courts are thronged with holy spirits who live upon 
M his smiles, who drink light from his eyes, who borrow glory 

from his majesty." 



MODERN IDEAS OF CHRIST'S OFFICE.. 



291 



The above extract will serve to shew this preacher's 
singular interpretation of the teaching of him who said 
emphatically, " I come not to seek my own glory, but the 
" glory of him who sent me. I can of my own self do 
" nothing." Again, " The Son can do nothing of himself 
" but what he seeth the Father do. The works that I do I 
" do not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me he 
ee doeth the works." 

In this same sermon of Mr. Spurgeon we find the 
following graphic picture of Michael's victory over the 
antagonist of the divine will: — "Satan was nibbling at 
" Christ's heel, and Christ trod on him and smashed his 
e( head." Well, " time was that when the brains were out 
te the man would die," and if Satan be actually that par- 
ticular, special, or individual evil spirit that theologians 
contend that he is, then according to the Spurgeonic gospel 
the devil ought to be dead, and decently buried; but if 
Satan or the antagonist, means the self-will of the human 
mind, then the above picture of the great battle is calculated 
to mislead. 

How is it possible that the same spirit of truth can 
prompt and guide these parsons, who each and all claim 
divine inspiration, and yet of several thousands all preaching 
at the. same moment, not a score agree together in anything. 
Split up into sects and subdivisions, they are employed in 
firing volleys into one another's ranks, and incessantly echo 
and re-echo the confusion of tongues that was commenced 
and set up in stereotype at the ancient theological tower 
of Babblement. 

No two churches, and hardly any dozen brick makers in 
the same church, concur in their views of the character and 
office of the Messiah. So we had better turn to ancient 
canonical writings of the Hebrews themselves, and see if any 
fresh information is deducible therefrom. 

First of all, there is Joseph's vision of his brother's 
sheaves bowing down to his sheaf, and the still more re- 
markable one of the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing 
down before him. For these dreams his brothers hated and 

u 2 



292 



MESSIANIC. 



envied him, but Jacob, his father, it is said, marked these 
visions, and observed the saying, although at the moment he 
rebuked the apparent arrogance of Joseph's speech. 

Subsequently, when Jacob is called to bless Joseph's 
children, he chooses Ephraim the second son before Ma- 
nasseh the first-born, and finally, when on his death-bed ; 
Jacob predicts the coming of JShiloh from the line of Judah ; 
but when he comes to Joseph, he blesses him above all his 
other children, and says, that from Joseph shall come the 
great shepherd to gather into one fold the scattered flocks or 
twelve tribes of Israel, and who will sling the stone that is 
to destroy the mystical Babylon of idolatry. 

So that from Joseph, and especially from Ephraim, for 
Joseph, and not from Judah, the final or seventh messenger 
or Messiah is to come. 

The Messiah, or sent one, is applicable to a series of 
messengers or prophets, and is not confined to one solitary 
individual. There is more than one Messiah alluded to in 
the old Hebrew Scriptures, but the " last" stands for, and 
includes by its position, the return of the end to the begin- 
ning of the great cycle of life, Alpha to Omega, and Omega 
to Alpha ; and thus the last is first, and the first is last, for 
circles end where they commenced. The first angels or 
witnesses of God upon earth were man and wife, Adam and 
Eve. The last are equally two in one, or man and wife. 
The two first witnesses were martyrs to sacerdotalism, and 
two last witnesses are equally to be martyrs, but in another 
sense, to the same system of priestcraft : (vide Rev. chap, xi, 
3rd to 12th verse.) 

With respect to the title of " Saviour of the world," the 
first who is recorded to have possessed this, is Joseph him- 
self, w T ho received it from the Egyptian monarch as a testi- 
mony that God worked in and by Joseph's instrumentality 
for Egypt, and the world at large. It is true that the 
Egyptian monarch's title had a double signification, and he 
did not probably see the full scope of this name of " Zaphnath- 
" paaneah," but the fact remains. 

Each of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and 



EPHRAIM OF JOSEPH. 



293 



Daniel, say in effect, of their commissioned authority, just 
what Jesus of Nazareth said, namely, that they are Joshuas, 
or Saviours, and revelations of the great first and last of the 
eternal word of life, but they all speak of some one to come 
after them, to fulfil or take up that portion of the great 
work which they leave unfinished. Jesus of Nazareth is no 
exception to this rule, he is found asserting more than once 
that there is another to follow him, and of whom he says, 
<e Greater works than these shall he do because / go to the 
" Father ;" and afterwards Jesus says to John in the Apoca- 
lypse of this same messenger or Messiah. " He shall rule 
" the nations with a rod of iron, even as I have received of 
Cf my Father." And again, in another place, c5 1 will be to 
" him a God, and he shall be my Son." This is spoken of 
the future, and cannot have any reference to Jesus himself, 
who was already the Son of God, and speaking to his angel 
at the time. 

When Isaiah speaks of the Messiah or the Christ of God, 
he includes Jeremiah and others equally with Jesus of 
Nazareth, but his prediction extends beyond Jesus, for he 
says in the celebrated fifty-third chapter, " He shall see his 
"seed (children) and prolong his days;" whereas Jesus of 
Nazareth left no seed, and his life was cut short before 
reaching its meridian, and he did not prolong his life subse- 
quent to his resurrection among the children of men, which 
is the prolongation that the Isaiaic writer alludes to. 

And the same is the case in the Psalms of David and 
others. Their poetic prognostications include all that hap- 
pened to Jesus of Nazareth, but they extend beyond his 
individual witness or martyrdom. For instance, in the 72nd 
Psalm, it is positively stated that every nation to the utter- 
most part of the earth shall be given as the Messiah's 
dominion. From the forty-fifth Psalm, it is plain that this 
anointed king is to be a married man, because his queen is 
mentioned in the ninth to the fourteenth verse, and in the 
concluding verse his children are mentioned ; moreover the 
throne of his dynasty is to be established for ever. In other 
places, the eighty-ninth Psalm for instance, the promises 



294 



MESSIANIC. 



that are made to the Messiah are to be inherited by his 
children through succeeding generations. The words are 
thus recorded : " His children shall endure for ever, and his 
* e throne as the sun before me." 

Now it is plain that all this has no reference to Jesus of 
Nazareth. The poetic prognostications contained in these 
Psalms do undoubtedly apply to J esus as the anointed one 
or Messiah, in so far as they are applicable to his special 
mission, but they do not end with him, because they embrace 
the two final witnesses or martyrs, who are sent for judg- 
ment on the two first messengers or angels who lost their 
first estate, and upon their crafty serpent seducer. 

The title fixed by Pontius Pilate upon the cross, over the 
head of Jesus, was simply " King of the Jews," or the King 
of J udah, but the title of the final Messiah and martyr is 
King of J udah and Joseph, or King of the Jews and 
Israelites. 

Asaph declares in Psalm lxxviii, 67, 68, that in 
his day God had passed by the tribe of Ephraim, 
of Joseph, and had chosen Judah for the Messiah's throne. 
And at Solomon's death the children of Ephraim along 
with the other ten tribes are separated from Judah 
and Benjamin, and this great schism between Jews and 
Israelites represented by Judah and Joseph is widened until 
it ends in total and absolute separation, so that at Jesus of 
Nazareth's coming, there remained only the two tribes of 
Judah and Benjamin, specialized as the " Jews," for the 
Messiah to be king over. Pontius Pilate was doubtless an 
unconscious agent in what he did when he limited Jesus' 
title to King of the Jews, and his snappish answer to the 
Jewish clergy, when they demanded an alteration, shows 
that the man obeyed an impulse that overruled his own will, 
and which he knew better than to resist. 

The key to this severance of the twelve tribes of Israel, 
and their final gathering under one sovereign is to be found 
in Ezekiel's vision, as detailed in the thirty-seventh chapter, 
of the resurrection in the valley of dry bones. Ezekiel (or 
the Ezekielitic prophet whoever he was) is directed to take 



THE FINAL RESTORATION OF ISRAEL. 295 



two sticks, and to write upon one stick, « For Judah, and 
fi the children of Israel his companions ;" and upon the 
other stick, " For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the 
" house of Israel his companions." And then to join these 
two sticks so labelled, the one to the other, so as to consti- 
tute one stick only. 

The explanation of this sort of pantomimic acting is to the 
effect, that in the last days God will gather the children of 
Israel out of the nations where they have been dispersed, 
and will collect them and bring them all together as one 
nation, under one king, into the land of promise, never again 
to be separated any more for ever. 

The Jews and Israelites represented by Judah, and 
Ephraim of Joseph, so long separated from the time of 
Rehoboam's rash government, are henceforth to be one 
homogeneous family. The promised king is called by the 
generic name of David, or the beloved, and we have seen 
that the patriarch Jacob, as his last will and testament, pro- 
claimed and predicted that this sovereign or final shepherd 
of the regenerated family of Israel would come f rom Joseph, 
and not from Judah. 

The promises to the Messiah are to the king of restored 
Israel, or Jews and Israelites amalgamated into one theo- 
cratic system of family government, and the throne of this 
Messiah in his capacity of a public servant or minister, are 
to him and to his children, and children's children, so long as 
the sun and moon endureth, that is to say, for everlasting. 
This cannot apply to Jesus of Nazareth who is confessed to 
be, by Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonian converts, 
(fourth chapter, and sixteenth verse,) an archangel in heaven. 
To argue that an archangel, such as Jesus of Nazareth is 
said to be, is to return to the inferior status of marrying and 
begetting children, is too sublimely absurd to be entertained 
in argument for a moment. 

That the final martyrs or witnesses of God, and the angels 
of judgment, do not specially apply to the mission of Jesus 
of Nazareth, is evident from careful study of the following 
facts recorded in the Psalms, where, in addition to such 



296 



MESSIANIC. 



plainly expressed statements as are found in the eighteenth 
and eighty -ninth Psalms and elsewhere, that the promises are 
to the Messiah and to his children for evermore, it is stated 
that the call of the final messenger is made in the night. 
The mission of this angel of judgment embraces a wider 
field of work in its particular way, than that assigned to any 
preceding prophet, not excepting even that to Jesus of 
Nazareth. The significance of this in the second Psalm and 
in the ninth verse, is referred to by Jesus himself in the 
Apocalypse, as events still in the womb of time. 

The nature of the final judgment is spoken of in Psalm 
lxxvi, cx, where it said that the valleys of the field of Arma- 
geddon shall be filled with the corpses of the opposing forces, 
and again in Psalm cxviii, it said that "all nations" com- 
pase id the Messiah round about, but that final discomfiture 
and destruction awaits their schemes. This great battle 
field of Armageddon is called the valley of Hamon Gog, by 
the prophet in the book of Ezekiel, in the thirty-ninth 
chapter. The events predicted in this place are so plain 
that none but the self-deceived, (and all men are more or less 
self-deceived,) can mistake the startling significance of the 
predictions here recorded. 

In Psalm lxxi, the prayer of the Messiah is " Forsake me 
" not when I am old and grey headed." This cannot apply 
to Jesus of Nazareth, neither could it apply to David him- 
self wdien he used the expression, for he says a little further 
on, that he expects to be quickened into life, and brought up 
again from the depths of the earth or the grave of hell. 
This alludes to martyrdom, and King David was not a wit- 
ness of God in this sense. The next Psalm, which is 
actually the continuation of the preceding ones, is apparently 
limited by King David for his son Solomon, but his words 
are here, as they are elsewhere, overruled by the spirit 
giving them a wider significance. The expression of " all 
" kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve 
<s him," was neither fulfilled in the case of Solomon, nor 
even in that of Jesus Christ. 

But beyond all this, there is something recorded as predic- 



THE MESSIAH AS PHYSICIAN PRIEST. 297 



tion in these Psalms, which illustrates in a remarkable 
manner the well known saying of Butler in his " Analogy," 
that the whole scope of scripture is not yet understood, and 
that there is nothing astonishing in the assertion that the 
Bible may contain many truths not yet discovered. 

The offices of the Messiah, include that of the physician 
as well as of king and legislator. Now it might seem a 
singular way to teach a physician his profession by making 
him practically acquainted with the sorrows and troubles of 
humanity, in the shape of obliging him to bear those dis- 
eases in his own person, but the Bible asserts, that such 
is actually the way in which the divine physician or priest is 
taught his sorrowful lesson. Isaiah in the fifty-third chapter 
states plainly, that the Messiah bears the griefs, and carries 
the sorrows of suffering humanity. He is a man stricken, 
smitten of God, and afflicted, he is tormented for man's 
transgressions, bruised for his iniquities, chastised for his 
reconciliation, and by these lacerations man his healed, 
upon this physician is made to culminate the iniquity of all 
men. By this painful experience shall the suffering, sorrow- 
ing priest or physician justify many, for he shall bear their 
iniquities. But how ? 

Before we turn once more to the Psalms, we remark that 
the book of Job in its significance is predictive as well as 
historical. Now Job says, " God has stripped me of my 
" glory, and taken the crown from my head." Solomon 
says, " The glory of a young man is his strength" What he 
means is too obvious for comment. Job says, " I feared a 
" fear, and it came upon me, and that which I was afraid of 
" is come unto me." 

The context does not say that J ob's loathsome disease was 
the effect of his fear, or that the mind itself affected the 
body through the nervous system, but it leaves the question 
open for debate. Job does not say that he is a victim to the 
lies and rascality of quack doctors, who invent imaginary 
diseases, and spread suffering and suicide far and wide in 
their iniquitous trade of picking frightened peoples pockets. 
But the allusion to Satan attacking Job in his own person, 



298 



MESSIANIC. 



is evidently the antagonism of self-consciousness, which by 
fear, and the consequences of that perverted self-conscious- 
ness, does practically bedevil the poor monomaniac with 
the very disease that it conjures up, therefore, when Job 
exclaims, "I feared a fear, and it came upon me," he shews that 
the Satan that possessed him in the first instance was perverted 
consciousness. He feared, and it came because he feared. 

Now it is well known to every physician and surgeon of 
practice, that during the last quarter of a century, a fearful 
amount of suffering and nervous derangement, culminating 
here and there in suicide, has sprung into existence from 
the undue prominence given by certain physicians, such 
as Lallemaud and his camp followers, to what is called 
Spermatorrhoean patients. 

The mischief done by a few mistaken, though doubtless 
■well meaning men, has now, in the hands of unscrupulous, 
ignorant, and greedy quacks, reached to an extent that calls 
for active interference and considerable self-sacrifice to com- 
bat, and finally put down once and for ever. 

A bad conscience makes every one a coward, and, there- 
fore, when the recollection of past profligacy has weakened the 
mind, the ground is prepared for that knowledge of the 
malade imaginaire, that brings with it the very disease itself, 
that would otherwise be non est inventus, if the Satan of self- 
consciousness did conjure up the evil thing wherewith to 
haunt the poor monomaniac. 

It is not an easy thing for a man to brand himself as 
having been a prodigal before the whole public, but Dean 
Swift encourages a man to do his duty, telling him that : — 

" It is not so much being exempt from faults as the having 
(( overcome them that is an advantage to us, for a man should 
(t never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, 
" which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser to-day 
" than he was yesterday." 

And further on he says : — 

" To relieve the oppressed is the most glorious act a man 
" is capable of, it is in some measure doing the business of 
" God and providence." 



THE PEODIGAL SON. 



299 



Besides, Jesus of Nazareth himself, attached the brand of 
profligacy to his younger brother in the parable of the 
prodigal son, where he describes him as being a man who 
had misspent his earliest days among harlots and riotous 
living. 

The vision of Zechariah, as related in the third chapter, is 
of the final Messiah, of whom Joshua, the son of Josedech, 
was the prototype, and of this man it is said by the angel of 
the Lord, " I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, 
" and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment." This 
prediction cannot refer to J esus of Nazareth in the specialized 
way in which the Messiah is here spoken of, for there is 
nothing recorded of his iniquity to require purging away. 

And now to return to the records of the Psalms. The 
confessions, prayers, and sorrows of the Job predicted 
therein, are thus detailed: — 

"Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions." 
" For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is 
" great." "Look upon my affliction and pain, and forgive all 
" my sins." " For my life is spent with grief, and my years 
" with sighing, my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, 
" and my bones are consumed." " Day and night thy hand 
" was heavy upon me ; my moisture is turned into the 
" drought of summer. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, 
" and mine iniquity have I not hid." <c Thine arrows stick fast 
" in me, and thy hand presseth me sore, there is no sound - 
" ness in my flesh because of thine anger, neither rest in my 
" bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone 
" over my head ; as an heavy burden, they are too weighty 
" for me. My wounds stink, and are corrupt because of my 
" foolishness. I am wearied and bowed down greatly. I go 
" mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a 
" loathsome impotence, and there is no soundness in my flesh. 
w I am feeble and sore broken, I have roared by reason of 
" the disquietness of my mind. Lord, all my petition is 
" before thee, and my groaning is not hid from thee." 
" Deliver me from all my transgressions, make me not the 
" laughing stock of fools. I was dumb, I opened not my 



300 



MESSIANIC. 



4< because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me. 
" I am consumed by the battering blows of thy hand." " Mine 
" iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able 
(i to look up, they are more than the hairs of my head, 
" therefore my courage forsaketh me." " Wash me thoroughly 
" from mine iniquities, and cleanse me from my sins." 

It is not necessary to multiply instances ad infinitum to 
indicate the sorrows of this Job, whose prayer is a wild and 
almost incoherent wail of terror, remorse, fright, confusion 
and despair, nearly to the edge of suicide itself, It is the 
cry of one who says he is worn away to skin and bone, who 
has groaned himself almost into a rapid consumption, whose 
days are consumed like smoke, and his bones burnt up like 
ashes upon a hearth, and his mind, the seat of his 
calamity, is blighted and withered up like grass cut down for 
hay. 

"I have gone astray like a lost sheep," cries this miserable 
monomoniac, " O seek thy servant." " Unless thy law had 
" attracted my worship, I should have perished in my 
" affliction." 

The above are all confirmatory of the doctrine that the 
Satan of the Lord and giver of life is the self-concentrating 
attention, the self-consciousness or self-will, and self-deceiv- 
ing mind of man himself, that the mind of man is its own 
accuser, its own devil, its own destroyer, its own origin and 
source of evil. Thus perverted consciousness becomes the 
cage of the foul and unclean demon that it conjures up 
from its own abortive conceptions. 

According to Isaiah, in the forty-first chapter, the final 
Messiah is called westwards from the east, and from the 
antipodes or ends of the earth. 

Jeremiah, in the thirty-third chapter, speaks of the 
Messiah as the branch, who shall never want a male child to 
sit upon his throne for ever. In the twentieth chapter, this 
man curses the day of his birth, like the rest of the labour- 
ing, sorrowing prophets, and he regrets that ever he was 
born. 

It will be found, upon carefully comparing the New Testa- 



INTERPRETATION OF ANCIENT RIDDLES. 301 

ment scriptures with the older Hebrew writings, that Jesus 
of Nazareth did not profess to make any addition to, or any 
alteration of, the already revealed will of the eternal pre- 
purposer, as explicitly declared by former prophets. And in 
reference to those parts which notoriously have never been 
fulfilled, such as among others, Isa. xxiii, xxxiv, lx — lxvi ; 
Jer. xxv, xxxi, xxxiii, li ; Ezek. xxvi — xxix, xxxvii — xxxix ; 
and two- thirds of all the minor prophets, it has been left on 
record by the writers in the four books of the gospel, that J esus 
himself distinctly gave his disciples to understand that 
he did not exhaust these prognosticated events in his own 
mission, for speaking of some one to come after himself, he 
says, "greater works than these (now transacting) shall he 
f (not I) do, because / go to the father." So all that re- 
mains now to be done is simply to pass judgment upon what 
is coming from the word of revelation already spoken. 
i If the conventional interpretation of the Bible were a 
uniformly consistent one, there would not be such a lament- 
ably disjointed and jarring sectarian state of the Christian 
world as at present exists. 

The old Catholicism had in it much to attract and chain a 
philosophic mind, for provided certain metaphysical 
hypotheses relative to mind and matter, and existence of evil 
be conceded, then the vast superstructure of ecclesiastical 
government ought in the very necessity of things to be truth, 
and to reject it would be folly. This sacerdotal system had 
in it a sublimity of conception, an awful grandeur, a majesty 
of movement, and a plaintive melodiousness in every vibra- 
tion of its mysterious but erroneous spiritualism which 
the vulgar and discordant babblement of its Protestant assail- 
ants has neither mind to perceive, candour to admit, nor 
decency to respect even when it does see it. Granted that 
it gradually lost its abnegation of self, and then went head- 
long into the bathos of ludicrous grossness and illogical 
absurdities, bringing the queen down to the level of the poor 
street-walker drunk in the gutter ; but what has Protestantism 
established which for grandeur, pathos, power, or philosophic 
thought, can for a moment be compared to the old dynasty, 



302 



MESSIANIC. 



which it has by sanguinary rebellion so ruthlessly upset ? 
Concede some heroism to the Protestant leaders at its barri- 
cades, and then all that can be said is said, for the gross 
selfism of this democratic mobocracy is as great an outrage 
upon logical and philosophical sense as can be conceived. The 
selfishness of its scheme of solitary individual salvation is so 
far from contributing to health of mind, that it is constantly 
breaking out in some measly eruption of insane performances, 
called for euphemy sake religious revivals ! Protestantism has 
prevented the establishment of a second gigantic usurpation 
to take the place of the first, which it has upset ; but it has 
not succeeded in supplying the want of that philosophic type 
of religion which is the need of the age. Protestantism is little 
better than a jargon like that which was heard at the ancient 
theological tower of Babblement. Listen to its vague, 
vapid, verbose, and windy platitudes about salvation or 
personal safety from hell fire, that one thing needful, about 
sacraments, ordinances, or signs and pledges of divine grace, 
and then contrast all this vigorous theological " talking" with 
the miserable fact, stamped upon every phase of its civiliza- 
tion, that it knows absolutely nothing of true faith. 

Mr. Holyoake, in his " Trial of Theism," page 166, hits 
this blot in the proud escutcheon of evangelicalism very 
cleverly, showing how completely its professors contrive to 
repeat the old pharisaic feat of straining at a gnat while they 
manage to bolt a whole camel. 

This essayist says : — 

" The religiousness of Christ consisted in a dependence 
" which civilization has discarded, and which all modern 
te churches treat as fanatical in men. No one sooner than 
" Christ would repudiate the cold and relative dependence 
" which Unitarianism recognises. The trustfulness of Christ 
" held nature and life in imperial subordination. His royal 
" words were, c take no thought for the morrow ; consider 
" c the lilies of the field, how they grow, yet they toil not, 
" s neither do they spin.' These are the words of a conjuror, 
" and the inspiration of a devotee. After two thousand years 
" there would be a power in them to stir the souls of men, 



THE HEKOISM OF SELF SACRIFICE. 303 



" were not all civilization in a conspiracy to disprove their 
" truth. What Christian now takes Christ at his word ? Are 
" they not all anxious in spite of it ? Do not all strive in 
" face of the promise ? What sect presents the grace of per- 
" feet trust?" 

What sect does ? Mr. Holyoake may well put these ques- 
tions, but, alas ! they are unanswerable. Jesus Christ himself 
has warned these latter day saints of the insecurity of their 
too much profession. He asked " When the Son of Man 
te cometh shall he find faith upon earth ?" 

The conventional meaning attached to the word faith is a 
very fair illustration of the truth of Mr. Isaac Taylor's re- 
mark in his " Physical Theory of Another Life," that the 
constant presence of words in the mind, slackens its curiosity 
by leading it to believe that in fact it knows what it does not 
know. 

When Jesus of Nazareth said to his wondering disciples, 
f have faith in God," he used a term that stands for " have 
"in yourselves the power of God." Now Baron Bunsen's 
definition of Deity, in his " Signs of the Times," formulates 
an expression that stands for abnegation of self-interest, and 
self-consciousness. He says " the whole (that means the 
" absolute and infinite existence) subsists by free surrender 
" of the individual (self) for the common good." Thus the 
power or faith of Deity, which Jesus recommended his 
disciples to have in themselves, to remove mountains of 
difficulty and doubt is that of self-sacrifice ; and thus every 
man who freely surrenders self, and sacrifices himself for the 
common good, has in himself the mustard seed of faith which 
will expand for ever and ever. 

" It is more blessed to give than to receive" said Jesus. 
Deity gives, and gives irrespective of the devil's catechism of 
good and evil. But this action of giving, as predicated of 
the absolute, can only be conceived in relation to him who 
receives to give again ; that is, the relative or son ; and thus 
giving is properly defined to be a relative action, requiring a 
correlative to answer it. Inability to give, therefore involves 
inability to receive, that is, in respect of giving and receiving 



304 



MESSIANIC. 



in a definite and relative, and not in the indefinite, absolute, 
and unconditioned sense. The instant that the receiver mis- 
appropriates by keeping and refusing to give, that instant he 
becomes incapable of any further receiving. Self has 
dammed up the flux of life, and if the stream is not kept 
open, self will keep the atom revolving inwards till it stops 
and perishes. Deity therefore, as the lord and giver of life, 
is the great paternal self-giver or sacrificer, and the Son in his 
office of kingly priesthood, is equally the self-sacrificer of his 
own life. If Deity be the infinite self-giver or self-sacrificer, 
then his great antagonist must be whoever is the worshipper 
of self and self-interest. Thus, if man asks who Satan is, 
the answer is ; the echo of self-conscious regard. Whoever 
loves his own life shall lose it ; but sacrifice your self-love 
and life, and you shall find it as it fluxes from the great self- 
sacrificer in the universe. Throughout the Bible the grand 
attribute of Deity is self-sacrifice, and from Abraham's offer 
to give up what was dearer to him than all else in the world 
to J esus' surrender of his own life, the same course of action 
is manifested in the children, as revelations of the universal 
Father's will. The part assigned to the Messiah in the 
Psalms is pre-eminently that of self-sacrifice. He is there 
reported to say of Deity, tc sacrifice and burnt offering thou 
" desirest not," but this applies to the vulgar idea of 
the blood shed of an offering. The work of the 
Messiah is not that of abolishing sacrifice. It is simply 
crowning the work by sacrificing himself. " Lo, I come to 
"do thy will, O God." If the will of God is free 
surrender of his infinite existence for the common good, 
equally must the will of the Son be surrender or sacrifice of 
individual life for the same end. " The good shepherd," 
said Jesus "is he who lays down his own life for the 
" flock." His personal salvation is a secondary considera- 
tion. 

True heroic action consists in abnegation of self. It is 
duty done without the vulgar idea of reward, or fear of pun- 
ishment. Heroic action is self-sacrifice upon the altar of 
duty, and the duty that is thus done is that which is per- 



WORSHIP OF OBEDIENCE TO ETERNAL LAW. 305 

formed in obedience to the ideal worship of the infinite 
unseen self-sacrificer, the Lord and Giver of life. 

But let anyone study the prevailing notion of religion, and 
it is wholly selfish salvation. Pre-eminently is this the type 
of protestantism ? Take for instance that great light of 
puritanic zeal, John Bunyan. Here the great idea pour- 
tray ed in the character of Christian, in his allegory, " The 
" Pilgrim's Progress," is from first to last salvation of self. 

How true is Baron Bunsen's remark, that it is the intole- 
rance of theologians which has made Christianity exclusive, 
and that this principle of intolerance is latent in every exist- 
ing religion, by virtue of the self-seeking principle in the 
natural man which desires to make its egomet, or its own 
specific salvation, the centre of everything. 

The best refutation of the illogical absurdities expressed 
and implied in the conventional caricature of vital faith, is to 
point to those cases selected by Jesus himself for the instruc- 
tion of his disciples. 

There was that of the centurion, whose concept of faith 
was illustrated by reference to the discipline of his soldiers, 
whose obedience was due to him as a commissioned officer, 
and therefore under and not over authority. Thus the cen- 
turion believed that Jesus' commission, like his own, was 
under and not above natural processes. 

Then there was the instance of the poor widow who cast 
all her living into the treasury. This poor woman, by her 
sacrifice of every available means of subsistence, showed her 
faith, which was the antithesis of theological and financial 
economy, which recommends prudent people to save some- 
thing for a " rainy day " and for a " sore foot," as if Deity 
* made it a rule never to attend to the wants of sore-footed 
folks during rainy weather. 

Well, this poor widow showed that she had more faith in 
one little finger than may be found in whole religious bodies 
numbering hundreds of thousands of people in the year 
Anno Domini 1861. Her prayer must literally have been 
" Father, give me daily bread." Such prayer as this necessi- 
tates the minimum amount of vocalization and the maximum 

x 



306 



MESSIANIC. 



of heroic action, for it implies self-sacrifice, discipline, and 
endurance. This widow probably knew nothing about 
theology, and still less of political economy; but even 
admitting that she was not ignorant of political economy, it 
is hardly likely that she would have ignored it in its place, 
or gone out of her way to abuse it. It is probable that its 
truth would have been admitted, since it is only those who 
have nothing to set up in its place that cry it down ; but if 
a man's active faith is pledged to political economy, in the 
name of fortune let him stand by his religion, and not mock 
Deity by idle vocalization, and quotations from Nicholas 
Brady, and Nahum Tate. If the poor widow, in her 
ignorance of the profundities of metaphysical theologies, 
gravely erred, and outraged the prudent maxims of political 
economy or free trade, she knew more of the true science of 
life, and what to live for; and thus her dependence upon 
Deity was of that character which Mr. Holyoake has truly 
said is one " which civilization has discarded, and all 
i( modern churches treat as fanatical in men." 

The rest of the subscribers who cast into the treasury with 
the poor widow, were as much more prudent as they were 
more respectable. Poverty is treated in civilization as a 
crime, and respectable folks naturally avoid the imputation 
of criminal poverty with as lively a horror as they would the 
soft impeachment of being afflicted with the itch. So the 
" quality folk " gave a conventionally proper proportion of 
what they had to give, and it amounted to a very respectable 
sum, many score shekels in fact. Nobody can blame them, 
for they did what society requires pious people to do, and in 
society's fashion they kotoued to society's God. Who this 
Deity is let the citizens in the gigantic metropolis of the city 
of the dead answer, if Mr. Home can be adequately paid to 
make them speak. 

The faith of the present age is a caricature. It is a 
vocative case that is wanting in vitality, for it is stereotyped 
both in expression and action. It is as fixed as a floating buoy 
that is purposely chained to one spot to shew where a fine 
ship has sunk, and to warn mariners off the foundered wreck. 



VITAL FAITH CARICATURED IN MODERN CREEDS. 307 



Creeds are lifeless because, as stereotyped, they have no 
growth. As growth and life are synonymous, it follows that 
want of growth or stagnation is the antithesis of vitality 
and means death. 

The faith that is spoken of in the Bible is the operation of 
one omnipresent force of life, growth, and self-development, 
that is revealed in the actions of those witnesses, or reflecting 
mediums of the infinite and unseen, whose wonderful deeds 
are the effect of their mental absorption and assimilation of 
that vital force which is the parental or monogenetic source 
of all life and growth in the universe. 

By such absorption and assimilation of the infinite unseen 
existence, the faculties of the te seer " are disciplined and 
exercised in the performance of miraculous deeds, which 
indeed are superhuman, but not necessarily supernatural, for 
to argue that whatever is superhuman must therefore and of 
necessity be supernatural is equal in logic^to predicating of 
man that he can do all that natural processes can effect, 
of which it would be easy to shew the fallacy by bringing it 
to the reductio ad absurdum test employed in geometrical 
reasoning. This is not necessary here, for it is a truth which 
is slowly but surely making its way into the studies of 
philosophers, that the human mind in its present stage is not 
in possession of those mental faculties that will enable it to 
receive correct impressions of the objective universe. 
Subjective images and objective realities are therefore very 
far from positive agreement, that is to say, the universe does 
not necessarily correspond to man's imagination of it. 
And the consequence follows, that whenever a glimpse is 
afforded of those mighty truths which underlie vulgar concepts 
of phenomenal revelation, there is raised at once a tremendous 
shout of " O, this is supernatural, this is the purely spiritual;" 
whereas it is simply a peep through the curtain of self-delu- 
sion into the mighty and magnificent ocean of truth that is 
outside of the range of the foetal human mind. 

The conventional meaning attached to the word faith is 
nothing but a vague and slip-slop belief in what is called the 
supernatural. An illustration of this popular fallacy is given 

x 2 



308 



MESSIANIC. 



by Sir Thomas Browne, M.D., in his "Religio Medici," page 
16, where he says: — 

" Methinks there be not impossibilities enough in religion 
" for an active faith ; the deepest mysteries ours contains 
<c have not only been illustrated but maintained by syllogism 
" and the rule of reason. I love to lose myself in a mystery, 
" to pursue my reason to an O altitudo ! It is my solitary 
" recreation to pose my apprehension with those involved 
" enigmas and riddles of the trinity, with incarnation and 
" resurrection. I can answer all the objections of Satan 
p< and my rebellious reason with that odd resolution I 
" learned of Tertullian, Certum est quia impossible est. I 
" desire to exercise my faith in the difficultest point; for to 
" credit ordinary and visible objects is not faith but persua- 
" sion." 

Again, at page 20, the essayist says: — 

"I believe that all this is true, which indeed my reason 
" would persuade nie to be false ; and this, I think, is no 
" vulgar part of faith, to believe a thing not only above but 
" contrary to reason, and against the argument of our proper 
" senses." 

If it be conceded that the human mind can and does know 
things as they are in themselves, then the above remarks of 
Dr. Browne respecting the antagonism of reason and faith 
may be proper and true. But if, on the other hand, it is 
to be held that the mind only conceives images of realities 
as they are conditionally related to its limited faculties of 
comprehension, then faith in the unseen is not necessarily 
antagonistic to healthy perception, but is an extension and 
exaltation of sight, a seeing or prophesying of what exists 
beyond the ordinary phenomenal revelation of realities to the 
human mind. 

With respect to the real faith which all true prophets or 
seers of the unseen have preached, it is certain that the 
battle which everyone has with "self" for dependence upon 
Deity for daily bread and all future wants, is as painful and 
laborious a discipline of patience and endurance as the severe 
training required of the combatants who prepare for a prize- 



FAITH AN EDUCATIONAL PROCESS. 



309 



fight. It calls for mental discipline of sleepless watchful- 
ness, and stretches endurance upon the rack of deferred 
hopes and thwarted expectations and wishes; practically 
reversing pre-conceived and inculcated ideas respecting divine 
aid, by compelling the alteration of prayer for special inter- 
ference, into seeking for power for patient endurance and 
submission to the pre-ordained conditions of surrounding 
arrangements. 

Over and over again the almost exhausted follower of this 
faith is strongly tempted to curse his rashness in deserting 
the broad and beaten track of civilization to climb this up- 
hill and slippery path. 

The evidence of everyday experience is so strongly 
opposed to the much less plainly perceived testimony of the 
omnipresent unseen, that the believer is compelled to doubt. 
He may be partly reassured, but again he doubts, for he can 
seize upon nothing that is absolutely certain and lasting. 
He is kept on the treadmill of unceasing mental labour and 
enquiry. How is this, says he, that I am led forward by 
ideas that possess me like the self-delusions of a monomaniac, 
and yet I cannot be insane, because the insanity of self- 
delusion does not doubt as I do, and is not conscious of a 
will conflicting in idea within its own mind. I can grasp 
and retain nothing certain like the evidence of everyday 
life; and in spite of all my eager, almost frantic efforts, 
I cannot define or quantify the measure of the concept 
of my belief. The more I see, so much the more I 
perceive that I am blind ; and the more 1 know, the more I 
perceive that I do not, and perhaps never can know. The 
possession of what I have got does but wet my appetite for 
more. I have fought and struggled on now for this long 
period of time, and yet I see but too clearly that this is only 
one step on the road to prepare for two more, and these two 
steps for four more, and so and so on. Where is this to end ? 
The more of this faith I exercise the more I am called upon 
to perform. There is no sitting down, and no turning back, 
for there is the horrid fate typified by the catastrophe of 
Lot's wife. It is a repetition of the story of the man with 



310 



MESSIANIC. 



the steam leg, up and away again for ever. This road 
seems to me to be endless, and I begin to think it is. Is it 
then all a trick, a snare, a delusion, or is it a necessary means 
to an end, to "draw out" the powers of the mind for 
endless progression ? 

One thing I can say to you, my friend, if I had known 
the severity of the discipline required of all students in this 
mental gymnasium, I do not think that I should ever have 
entered it. But as Milton says, 

« Who best 
Can suffer, best can do ; best reign, who first 
Well hath obeyed." 



311 



CHAPTER XIV. 

SACERDOTAL ATONEMENT. 

The church theory of atonement by proxy for man's sin is 
based upon the same foundation of knowledge and responsi- 
bility for theological good and evil, and the dogma of man's 
free will, that obtains throughout the system. If the human 
mind is an attribute of its material organization, and not an 
immortal and immaterial entity, then of course the whole 
theory of atonement by proxy is vitiated and absolutely 
false. 

The generally received idea of the fall of man, and the 
assumed original sin of the human race, is well conveyed in 
one of Dr. Sharpe's tracts on the Remedies of Homoe- 
opathy. He speaks thus: — 

" Man is a triune being, composed of a body, an animal 
" life, and a spirit. The animal life or vital principle is the 
'* life which he has in common with the lower animals, his 
" spirit is an immaterial and immortal essence, intelligent 
" and moral, the presiding powers of which are reason and 
te conscience. Vital principle and intelligent spirit are the 
" lives breathed by the great Creator into the prepared 
" body. Since man's fall, all three are subject to derange- 
" ment ; the body and vital principle are appointed unto 
" death, the derangement of the one acts upon the other two. 
" The diseases of the body act through the vital princple 
ce upon the mind, and the diseases of the mind act through 
" the same medium upon the body. These are the only 
" instances we are cognizant of where matter and spirit 



312 



SACERDOTAL ATONEMENT. 



" meet and act upon each other ; in all other cases, as far 
" as we know, matter acts only upon matter, and spirit 
" upon spirit." 

This argument is certainly true to the ordinary style of 
reasoning, but what a dreadful confusion of thought it 
evidences. 

How does inert matter act upon inert matter? Equili- 
brium of force is not annihilation of force. No man can 
separate matter from force even in metaphysics, certainly 
not in physics. Matter acts upon matter by the vital force 
constantly resident in particles of matter. Force is all 
material, that is, we may say that force and matter arc 
identical. To annihilate force is to uncreate matter. We 
know of no force or power that is not inextricably inter- 
woven with material processes. 

The idea of Dr. Sharpe, that the divine or Holy Spirit 
has been deranged or sin-stained by man, is contrary to all 
natural reason and divine revelation, and is as opposed to 
common sense, as is the kindred statement that inert matter 
operates upon spirit. What spirit ? There is but one vital 
spirit in existence, in whom we live, and move, and have our 
being, and is that operated on ? The doctor may well con- 
fess that man is the only instance where matter and spirit 
act in the extraordinary way he describes, and that in other 
known instances phenomena, equally wonderful, contradict 
this hypothesis. The entire argument is only supportable 
upon some concealed mental prepossession traditionally 
received of man's inherent divinity, but for this it is unintel- 
ligible, and so marvellously entangled in its scheme, as to 
make it a proper subject for the discussion of some erudite 
debating society to show how its syllogism may be sustained 
or controverted. 

What course of study had been pursued by the homoeo- 
pathic physician, to enable him to assert so confidently that 
man is a triune being it is not easy to imagine. If the Royal 
College of Surgeons can demonstrate such a fact, they should 
lose no time in making the general public acquainted with 
the thesis. They might establish an entirely novel and 



HUMAN CONDITIONS OF EXISTENCE. 313 



original system of therapeutics relative to mental insanity, or 
assisted by these talented savans and spirit- rappers, Messrs. 
Home and Squire, might succeed in exorcising evil spirits 
out of lunatic persons into pigs. There can be no doubt 
that they would eventually succeed in discovering something, 
if it were only a universal pill to purge mankind of false- 
hood and humbug. There is now a chance for them ; since 
professors and preachers of religion have proved themselves 
empirics, there is an opening for a better class of professors 
to take up the science of immortality and teach it in intel- 
ligible language. 

The Bible does not support Dr. Sharpe's diagnosis of the 
constitution of human nature, for Ave find it recorded in 
Genesis that man is a living soul, and in the thirtieth verse 
of the same chapter, it speaks of " Every beast of the earth, 
" and every fowl of the air, and everything that creepeth 
" upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul." 

Now, if everything that lives can exist only by and in the 
breath of one living spirit, and as man is a creature, draw- 
ing the same vital breath as the beasts of the earth and the 
fowls that fly in the air, how is he a triune being while the 
rest of organised creatures are merely dual phenomena of 
existence ? 

Whatever special virtue homoeopathy may lay claim to, it 
clearly stands in need of better explanation than this of Dr. 
Sharpe. 

The church's doctrine of atonement is simply a repetition 
of the rabbinical theory of regeneration, and is based upon a 
fundamental error that vitiates its entire scope and applica- 
tion. 

The doctrine of atonement by proxy, assumes God to be 
estranged from man by his sin, and reconciled to him by 
a bloody sacrifice. Now the Bible doctrine is actually the 
reverse of this, and asserts that mankind are reconciled to 
God, and not God that is thereby reconciled to man. God 
never was estranged in this way, he never ordained sacrifices 
and blood shedding for evil. He is said to be of purer eyes 
than to regard this theological demon of man's conjuring up. 



314 



SACERDOTAL ATONEMENT. 



Therefore, if he does not acknowledge the devil's catechism 
of good and evil, how can he accept a redemption price for 
what he does not claim ? To take a redeeming price, is to 
acknowledge the right to insist upon sacrifice of life for sin. 
To accept sacrifice for man's sin, is to acknowledge the exist- 
ence of evil; to acknowledge the existence of theological 
evil, is to judge good and evil, admit man's claim to divine 
life, and endorse the serpent's lie. 

The apostle Paul's allusion to atonement is not urged 
upon the Gentiles with anything like the stress that it is 
pressed upon the Hebrews; and the reason is obvious, 
that Paul sought to wean the Jews from their inherited pre- 
possession in favour of atonement by sacrificing life for sin. 
These Jews were unable to conceive of any reconciliation 
without some atoning blood. Moses' teaching was obviously 
designed to lead the Hebrews from Egyptian theism. And 
Jeremiah declares positively, (chap, vii, 22,) that God never 
designed the Jewish system of sacrifice of life for man's sin. 
David speaks prophetically of the Messiah, who declares, as 
the messenger revealing the power of eternal law, " Sacri- 
" fice and burnt offering thou desirest not." The real 
sacrifice is that of free will. " I come to do thy will, O God," 
that is the offering, and in this Jesus sacrificed himself, 
dying in the struggle between his own mental individuality, 
and the will of his eternal Father. 

It is mankind that have refused reconciliation to their 
Gods, without sacrifice of life for theological evil ; man 
demands atonement, not the true God. The human mind 
will in no wise be reconciled to its conjured up God without 
sacrifice for that evil which it has immortalized and deified, 
and of which the true God will take no account. This 
human mind that conceived evil, brought it into the absolute 
to make its Deity complete, and must propitiate this power 
of evil by blood, — by blood, the reeking smoke whereof is 
impervious to the solar rays, blood that must have blood, eye 
for eye, tooth for tooth, blow for blow, life for life. Man, 
blood-nourished, will insist upon his sacrifice of blood, for 
without this bloody offering, his immortal spirit of evil cannot 



SACRIFICE FOR EVIL DEMANDED BY MANKIND. 



315 



be exorcised, he says : the malignant spirit of evil must suck 
up this vital liquor, for he lives a huge vampire upon the 
human race : all creatures devour one another, and man in 
his turn devours these beasts for his food : man's life is sus- 
tained by death of these creatures, and man's own death is 
the sustenance of the great dragon of evil who ghoul-like 
devours him. Thus in bygone ages was this great demon 
conjured up, in days when the poor frightened inhabitants of 
this planet shuddered at their shadows in the moonlight, 
when they were terrified into stupor at the evil omens of 
owls, bats, and night-hawks, when they trembled at they 
scarce knew what, and looked wistfully around for some 
peace offering to propitiate the malignant power of an evil 
eye. Human sacrifices were once a world-wide institution, 
then the blood of bulls, goats, and birds redeems the price of 
human life. Finally, one life pays the penalty demanded by 
ever-accusing man, and one sacrifice redeems all life, and 
abrogates any death penalty for sin, releasing all creatures 
from this horrid penalty, whose blood has failed to gorge the 
insatiable maw of him who has the power of death, the 
accusing demon of evil, the mind of man ; and it has required 
ages upon ages of time, and pyramids upon pyramids of 
corpses, to gorge the insatiable appetite of the great flesh- 
eating, blood-drinking dragon of evil. 

Shortly before his martyrdom, Jesus Christ kept the 
Jewish passover with certain chosen disciples, and he made 
use on that occasion of memorable words, that have been 
distorted by the priests into conveying a mystical or magical 
meaning. By the literal acceptation of oriental parables in the 
words (S eat my body, and drink my blood," modern divines 
have fallen into the same trap that snared the intuitively 
wise rabbis and scribes who were slain by the literal mean- 
ing or by the " letters " that kill, missing the true power 
that quickens into life ; straining at gnats they swallow 
camels of theology, and stultify themselves before the world. 

The injunction of Jesus to break bread and drink wine, in 
commemoration or in remembrance of him who submitted 



316 



SACERDOTAL ATONEMENT. 



to die, to bring immortality to light from the dark eclipse of 
eternal death, has been sacerdotalised into an ordinance con- 
veying the spirit of eternal life in the materials of human 
manufacture. Thus traditional church systems swallow the 
camel of that literal cannibalism that staggered the Jews, 
while the compromise of protestantism still clings like a 
drowning wretch at the last stick of the floating wreck of 
ritualism and tradition, that makes a merely commemorative 
supper an actual means of life, a sacrament, or sign outward 
and visible, of an invisible power or Holy Spirit thereby con- 
veyed, as well as a pledge to assure sceptical minds of the 
theological effect so sacramented, signed, sealed, or sworn to. 
Thence we descend to the kaleidoscopic and dissolving views 
of those jarring sects that agree in nothing but to disagree, 
each and every sect straining at gnats, ever composing, ever 
compounding, ever analyzing, ever learning, and never able 
to come to the knowledge of the hidden truth, ever seeking, 
and never finding the elixir of immortality, the philosopher's 
seven-eyed and white stone of eternal truth. 

It is extraordinary how the church atonement system, 
derived from the divine teacher's request, can be discovered in 
the plain words " Do this in remembrance of me, for as often 
" as ye do this ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." 

This teaching was throughout transparently oriental in its 
figurative use of idioms or illustrative parables, as arrows 
from a giant's bow, to bear aloft and far away the feathered 
words of truth. The teachers and scribes in those days 
adopted a method of transposing the meaning of words by 
attaching to one word the accepted meaning derived from 
another of corresponding numerical value, and this shews the 
necessity that would occasionally arise for Jesus' disciples to 
have explained to them certain points, or meanings in those 
parables or illustrations which they might make obscure to 
themselves. 

To a rabbin the wine of the last supper would have the 
numerical value of the word secret, and so on. 

Upon one occasion Jesus declared himself to be the bread 



SELF DELUSION THE SNARE OF THEOLOGIANS. 317 



from heaven, and he made use of the same idiom that he 
afterwards employed at his keeping of the passover before 
his martyrdom. 

He declared it to be essential for immortality, that he, the 
man Jesus, flesh, bones, and blood should be bodily eaten, 
and he that did not eat him had not eternal life ; if, however, 
he was bodily eaten, he would live in the man who had eaten 
him, and the man would dwell in him. This speech stag- 
gered and offended his opponents, and even his disciples, 
who there and then turned their backs upon him and left 
him. The fact is, they felt their intelligence insulted, it was 
so palpably absurd to suppose that the eaten man could be 
alive in the man who had eaten him, and at the same time 
that the man who had eaten the other could continue to live 
in the body of the one he had consumed. 

Now, if we bear in mind, that the Jewish doctors, scribes, 
or law expounders took everything, letter by letter, dissect- 
ing every word, making even the position of a letter in a 
word a symbol of hidden meaning, we can then fully appre- 
ciate the nature of the trap these persecutors of Jesus fell 
into. Their boasted intuitive intelligence and judgment was 
their stumbling block. They are told that they must be 
cannibals, that they must eat Jesus' flesh, and drink his blood, 
to inherit the promised kingdom of eternal life, so suppose 
now that they take " these words " home, and apply their 
analysing powers, let them try the rabbinical tests of Gema- 
tria and Notarikon, and make what we should call anagrams 
of the words, " Eat his flesh, and drink his blood ! " He said 
so, but what does he mean in any shape or way? Well, 
but let them try the numerical value of the words, transpose 
them, dissect them, letter by letter, they are clever theolo- 
gians, very, and are used to find hidden wisdom in their old 
scriptures, where there is no such meaning intended, and where 
it really exists they contrive to overlook it. Wisdom is justified 
of these her children, but, ! expounders of the sacred 
shasters, how have you stultified yourselves ? 

Jesus explains what he meant to his disciples privately. 
He said, " when I used the words flesh and blood, I meant 



318 



SACERDOTAL ATONEMENT. 



" that the words themselves must be eaten bodily, not my flesh 
K and blood, for my flesh and blood profiteth nothing, flesh, 
" blood-nourished, is mortal, and cannot convey immortality. 
" The words themselves that I spoke, they are spirit and 
w life. My words are not my own, but my Father's which 
u sent me," and he explained that his word was a quickening 
or life-giving power, because his Father's word of almighty 
power quickens everything that lives ; so that Jesus' words 
were not those of the man himself, who plainly said that of 
himself he could do nothing, but his words were those of the 
omnipotent power of God, of whom he was a messenger, 
and these words of pro-creative force were necessary to 
generate concepts of truth in the minds of those who had 
perceptive power to understand them, and abandon their own 
absurd intuitions. He was the anointed Son of the ever- 
lasting word of generation, and he had commission to 
generate conviction of relationship in those who received, 
eat, and digested his words, but not his flesh ; that was 
nothing to the purpose. " Who hath ears to hear the words 
" I speak, for they are spirit and life." 

Now the rabbins would take the words, and try their 
Gematria and Notarikon test, and what would they make of 
them ? The word is the word, the word itself would 
bother them, because they would certainly miss the true 
meaning in trying to find another to fit the very term 
" word." 

Jesus' meaning was this, — 

" Man shall not live by bread (perishable bread and wine) 
" alone, but by every word (necessary condition of existence) 
" that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," and thus he 
illustrates his mission, — 

I am the true Christ, or imperishable bread or word from 
heaven ; if a man hear my voice and live by me, I will give 
him by it (the required condition of eternal self -existence or) 
immortality, and he shall not perish in eternal death. 

There is one word of life for everything, and the Alpha 
and Omega of this divine word is the anointed Son, the 
only revelation in a personal being of the eternal, omni- 



METAPHORICAL DOCTRINES OF JESUS CHRIST. 319 



present, omnipotent, spirit of life, in whom all live, move and 
have their existence, but who is unknown and unknowable, 
save in, and by, and through this relation. 

He that heareth my word, heareth my Father's everlasting 
word, and he that heareth and belie veth on him that sent 
me hath eternal life, and escapes the universal condemnation 
of mankind; for in receiving my word he passes instanta- 
neously from mortality, or from inherited death, to a higher 
state of existence ; and the hour will come when those who 
are vegetating in the midst of animal life shall hear the 
divine word again, the voice of the living Father in the Son 
of Man, and those that hear that voice shall have eternal 
life. 

The immortality of the Sons of God is by the eternal word 
or generation of the universal parent. There has been no 
knowledge of God save in and by the personality of his Son. 
Personality necessarily implies organization, a disembodied 
ghost is not an organization. The hope of humanity is for 
the birth of eternal life in individual personality, and in the 
throes of this gestating process all nature travails and groans, 
poetically remarks St. Paul. But to return to the signifi- 
cance of Jesus' last supper. It was the Jewish passover 
he was keeping with his disciples in that upper room, 
and that passover he was abolishing, at the very moment 
and by the very means he used to celebrate it, and 
this too under the nose of the high priest and his clergy. 
He was superseding the Mosaic economy by his acts, as 
indeed he had been doing ever since he commenced his 
career. Aye, and the high priest, and his saints and clergy 
knew it, and they gnashed their teeth at their inability to 
stop the new heresy. What do we ? said they ; if we let him 
alone all men will believe in him, and our nationality, our 
establishment, and sacred callings are gone. The Jewish 
passover feast is the last to be consigned to the tomb of the 
eternal past by J esus. The national festival that commemo- 
rated the safety of the children of Israel, when the messengers 
of the Lord slew Egypt's first-born, beast and man, passing 
by the blood-stained doors, that national festival so long 



320 



SACERDOTAL ATONEMENT. 



kept is now to be obliterated from the minds of Jesus' fol- 
lowers by another commemoration, the passover of another 
sacrifice, the first-born of God, the blood to be sprinkled 
this time, not on the door-posts of their houses, but upon 
their minds ; those natural minds at enmity with the spirit 
of the Most High, minds that refuse reconciliation to God 
without a bloody sacrifice for that power of absolute evil 
which he cannot recognise, God was never estranged, 
and desires no man's death for evil, but rather that man 
should turn from his own evil consciousness and live ; so God 
provides a sacrifice that man may feel reconciled to him. The 
father offers the Isaac of his love that the world may be 
reconciled to him, and that death for evil may ever after be 
abolished. 



321 



CHAPTER XV. 

MOSES AND JESUS OP NAZARETH. 

To form anything like an impartial estimate of the difficul- 
ties of Moses' position with a self-willed and stubborn people, 
there ought to be knowledge of the vast and complicated 
scheme of Egyptian theology, with which the mind of the 
Israelites had become completely saturated, and from which 
it was necessary to wean them. Such infantile intelligences ! 
so long held in mental and physical bondage that they were 
half Egyptians in everything. As for religion, what was 
not Egyptianism, was love of themselves. They were wor- 
shippers of beef. Whether in the form of a living calf of 
Apis, or in their flesh pots, they worshipped beef. They were 
votaries of beef, living or dead. No marvel then that 
Moses lost temper in battling with such a lot, no wonder that 
he spoke hastily and unadvisedly. If we can imagine Sir 
Isaac Newton with a divine commission to lead up and teach 
some Choctaw Indians, we might sympathise with Moses' 
shortcomings, from the terribly aggravating circumstances 
that pressed upon him. 

Egyptianism, like modern theologies, had a Janus' face ; 
one for the priests and educated, and another for the mob. 
The priests of Egypt were professors, not of theistical 
philosophy only, but of all science, they were clever and pro- 
foundly learned men. But the study of Egyptology would 
exhaust the labour of a life time,for no history has suffered more 
fright ful mutilation than that of ancient Egypt, where stolid 
pedantry and blind and bigoted adherence to the prepossessions 

Y 



322 



MOSES AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. 



of ill instructed puritanic zeal have turned into caricature the 
marvels of a magnificently vast and inconceivably ancient 
series of empires, which have been indiscriminately jumbled 
into one unintelligible and contradictory hodge-podge of 
narrative, to square the circle of mythical traditions. These 
empires of Egypt possess a history almost undreamt of ; their 
ages may be counted in cycles of scores of thousands, and no 
annals, if they could be recovered from beneath the waters of 
the great deluge of cosmopolitan oblivion, would so richly 
illustrate the conquests and the magnificence of the reign of 
those grand sacerdotal systems, one of which has erected its 
vast pyramidal altars to mark the site of the fierce sacrificial 
daughter of those wretched races who so sheepishly surren- 
dered their throats to the cruel knife of their priests. The 
sword of one religious faith has here, as usual, smitten its 
serpent rival upon the head, so that the sacerdotalism which 
floated in oceans of blood, has its life taken by another 
system, which has in its turn to share the same sanguinary 
baptism. So truly is Egyptology the science of ecclesiastical 
blood-letting, that its entire history is that of conquerors, 
themselves subsequently conquered, and their exterminating 
wars throughout their entire course are one prolonged re- 
ligious contest. 

Egyptianism is stigmatised as " gross materialism," even 
by the clergy who are professed disciples of Paul, whose 
epistles evidence his unshaken faith in the reality, not of an 
immaterial breath, but of a necessary material organization, 
without which he acknowledges there is no possibility of any 
conscious individual existence. 

The Egyptian sacerdotalism of Moses' day was not that of 
the sanguinary pyramidal sacrificial system, but one of a 
much later and more humane creed, but it is not easy at this 
day to obtain any but negative evidence of the precise scheme 
of theism, or polytheism, from which Moses w r as commissioned 
to extricate the descendants of the patriarchs. 

Sacredness of locality was a great point with Egyptolian 
priests, for ancient tradition asserts that the moon is the locus 
standi of departed saints, and consequently the ladder of im- 



LAW FROM SINAI NOT PART OF THE WORD OF LIFE. 323 



mortality must have a chosen resting place upon earth ; and 
where is this ? 

But the refined intelligence and science of Egyptianism 
was not participated by the mob. They worshipped Deity 
transmigrated from some great prophet into a lower animal, 
and each village had its favourite cat, and crocodile, or bull, 
to which they kotoued with all the energy peculiar to a 
superstitious people. With this idolatry the Israelites were 
impregnated, and the entire Mosaic economy, not even ex- 
cepting the instalment upon the stone tables, evidences the 
barbarous condition of the nation for whom it was designed. 

What is Mosaism but a very hornbook of morality, the 
merest pot-hooks and hangers of religion, the A B C of true 
worship for active intelligence ? Schoolmaster indeed ! Truly 
it seems so. An infant schoolmaster, with lessons designed 
to inculcate the plainest principles of honesty, self-denial, 
truth speaking, and common decency. Paul stigmatised the 
Mosaic economy as " a system of weak and beggarly 
" elements," and says truly, that the law upon stone tables, 
in ten precepts, was necessary because of transgression ; and 
that so far from being the eternal word of life, or indeed any 
part of this eternal word or law, it is actually the law of 
death or condemnation ! So that even if a man keeps all the 
ten commandments unbroken he is still not in the way of im- 
mortality, but is only keeping the law of death ! for the law 
from Sinai makes sin apparent in the human mind, and the 
revelation of sin in the mind is opposed to the obliteration of 
it, by the knowledge of the law of eternal life from the only 
true God. 

The law from Sinai, then, is not part of the divine word of 
eternal life, but on the contrary is the law of condemnation, 
for it was given because the consciousness of the Israelites 
had been so seared and deadened by Egyptian maxims of 
theology, that they were incapable of judging of the true 
from false motives. The forms and ceremonies of the 
Mosaic ritual were made as near to the religion of the land 
they had left, as it was prudent to shape them. Even the 
symbol of divine presence, with its outspreading wings, was 

Y 2 



324 



MOSES AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. 



allowed to remain in the tabernacle, for so completely were 
their minds bound up to this symbolism of Deity, as wit- 
nessed in the temples of Osiris, that they could not con- 
ceive of God apart from some such manifestation. And so on 
throughout the entire system of incense burning, burnt 
offerings, sacrifices, priestly mediation, atonement, purification 
and separation of clean from unclean animals, that it is plain 
upon the very face of it, and from what later teachers say, 
that it was designed to wean mere infants from idolatry, a 
sort of feeding-bottle system to draw their minds from 
Egyptian rites and ceremonies. To take these people from 
their accustomed holy of holies, temples, priests, sacrifices, 
purification, moral precepts, and other paraphernalia, was to 
allow them without any mental standard of religion at all, or 
leave them to invent their own deities, which indeed they did 
the very moment their schoolmaster's back was turned, and 
they set up a sample of their favourite beef, in the shape of 
a bull calf, under Aaron's kind tutorship. 

How modern theologians can see any precedent to guide 
them in this system is marvellous, when they must know, 
from their favourite Pauline epistles, that the Draconic code 
from Sinai is throughout a ministration of death, and not the 
gospel or glad tidings of the freely conceeded gift of immor- 
tality. 

The whole system of Moses was blood for blood shed. It 
was eye for eye, blow for blow, life for life, in fact, a system 
of retaliation and expiation for mere men. Moses' was a police 
law for an ignorant, stiffnecked, rebellious people. It was 
obliged to wink at many enormities which he could not sup- 
press, such as divorce on trifling pretexts, manslaughter, rape, 
&c, for in some cases money payment could expunge 
the crime, while it pursued with unrelenting severity and 
death many others, which shows us how man's consciousness of 
good and evil shifts with his intelligence, and what is a venial 
sin in one age is a deadly crime in another, and vice versa. 

Moses did not attempt to eradicate the evil roots from the 
human mind, he could but weed the garden in which cropped 
up, so rank and luxuriant, the tares and rubbish of evil 



IFERIORITY OF MOSES' MISSION TO THAT OF JESUS. 325 

imaginations. He allowed the growth of these foul weeds 
as a lamentable misfortune, and endeavoured to keep them 
under if possible. So he promulgated a policy of retributive 
justice suited to men's infantile intelligences, and this system 
necessarily was made to square somewhat with the peoples' 
own conception of evil, but which to our ideas seems dread- 
fully disproportioned, one crime towards another ; but this 
was the people's fault, not Moses'. 

The human mind, which insists upon harbouring the know- 
ledge of theological evil as a vital principle, instead of regard- 
ing pain or evil as a thing to be overcome and combated, and 
for man necessarily associated in nature with his good, will 
insist upon sacrifice of life as an atonement for sin, and with- 
out this life-sacrifice, will not be reconciled to its God. 

All this was abolished by Jesus of Nazareth, who cuts 
down to the quick, by shewing that the fountain of moral 
evil is in the human mind itself. He counselled his disciples 
to ignore the very existence of evil, and said, never harbour 
revenge, never retaliate evil, never acknowledge it, but both 
theoretically and practically put it down, by combating the 
rising devil of revenge in your own minds, and submit for a 
time to what you consider injustice from others. 

Do not hold to the pound of flesh ; eye for eye, tooth for 
tooth, life for life ; all this is for childish intelligence, you are 
something higher and must not know evil. Now if the foun- 
tain of moral evil is the consciousness of the human mind, 
and this perverted consciousness is cured, what need is there 
of atonement ? If man is reconciled, shall God be estranged* 
who, his prophets say, knows nothing of man's knowledge of 
theological evil? 

If the legion-headed dragon of evil is exorcised from the 
poor lunatic mind of man, and the creature sits clothed in a 
sound mental condition, will Deity demand a holocaust of 
swine, or any other creatures, after the demon of moral evil 
is driven out ? It is the poor demented or lunatic mind of 
man that demands a sacrifice of swine before its cure, not 
when the possessed one has been relieved. Once convalescent 
the mind begins to apprehend the necessity of refusing to 



326 



MOSES AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. 



harbour evil thoughts of others, and when this is done, and 
evil is never retaliated, but everywhere ignored, then the 
devil is finally chained up in the bottomless pit. 

In the Mosaic dispensation, sacrifice of life for sin was 
provided by man, upon the assumption that God required, 
and was reconciled or appeased by such atonement of blood. 
But David, in the written law in his Psalms, declares very 
plainly that God does not require any such sacrifice of blood, 
nor any burnt offerings for evil, but that the religion of 
active obedience is his true sacrifice, and to do his will is the 
true burnt offering. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was his 
own life upon the altar of faith, the offering of duty, of active 
obedience, as it was written of the Messiah, " In the volume 
" of the book of law it is said concerning me, Lo, I come to 
« do thy will, O God." 

The conventional theory of Jesus' atonement supposes evil 
to be a principle, or force of sin in nature, opposed to God; 
whereas we are told in the Bible, that all power or all force 
is of God, who cannot see moral evil. Then it arises from 
the false position assumed by man in nature. The death of 
man is not the power of moral evil, for death is man's destiny, 
just as it is the destiny of cows and sheep. There is no 
God of cows and sheep, and there is no God of men in their 
condition of premature birth, for God is the Father of the 
full born only. The aspect of theological evil in nature is 
false perspective, arising from a usurped elevation by mankind 
of their place in nature. Man has invented God, and man's 
God is not the true God ; no man knows or can ever know 
the true God, except he have the special gift of the image of 
the invisible from God himself ; then he becomes more than 
man, and is an immortal, and he cannot accept sacerdotal 
evil, for, like Job, he sees nature from a higher elevation than 
his theistical comforters viewed it ; and he takes pain as a 
necessary rod to rouse him to action, to be combated, and 
make him a resolute being. Job saw that what man calls 
theological good and evil are necessarily associated, like 
positive and negative electricity, to do certain work, and that 
man's view of nature, of his position in it, of his duties, are 



TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL CUT DOWN BY JESUS. 327 



all false, and that all the truth man possesses is only relative 
and not absolute. 

When Jesus proclaimed his glad tidings of salvation, he 
practically laid an axe to the root of the tree of know- 
ledge of good and evil theism. Like a true physician, he 
goes to the seat of disease or false centre of vital action ; he 
cuts like a practised surgeon, with a strong wrist and well 
nerved power, down into the internal cancer that shoots its 
fibres hidden from the eye. He shews that evil imaginations 
beget evil diseases, that perverted mental action palsies the 
limbs, blinds the eyes, and deranges its own operations, by 
throwing its energies in selfish eagerness in upon itself, 
so that men actually become possessed of the very demons 
they conjure up, and their hallucinations or diseased convic- 
tions bind their minds in the very shape of the devils so 
raised. Men become bound in the cords of their own 
misconcepts, and finally, silk-worm like, are completely 
covered with a cocoon of sins of their own spinning. When 
Jesus cured diseases he aimed at men's sensorial conscious- 
ness, and says, S( If you can believe (or give me your mind) it 
" shall be." In his own neighbourhood they disbelieved and 
despised him; and it is reported that he could not cure 
them because of their obstinate unbelief. He controverted 
the idea that eating anything could defile the supposed im- 
mortal soul ; he said that the mind of man was not a god, as 
it was often a fountain of evil conceptions ; that man was 
not inspired to commit murder, rape, licentiousness, robbery, 
perjury, all unnatural crimes, by an evil power or spirit, but 
that the human mind was itself the fountain head whence 
issued these sins. It was these things that came from the 
supposed immortal mind that defiled the man, and not what 
went into him. To the pure in thought all things are really 
pure, but the mind of man is not in itself a fountain of pure 
water when it originates bad thoughts. 

Moses combated evil in the human mind by permitting it 
to be acknowledged, he had to deal with a generation too 
low in the scale of intelligence to understand any other 
teaching. So he applies palliatives, he did not attempt to 



328 



MOSES AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. 



uproot the evil tree bodily. He took human consciousness 
as he found it, and was not in a position to propound any- 
absolute and eternal precepts for the radical reformation of 
the human mind, thus he was limited to giving elementary 
lessons, that left the pupil in the outer court of ontological 
and theological science. He could not permit any vulgar 
intrusion behind the veil that hid the innermost of all. 
Moses administered medicine to diseased minds, but did not 
grapple with human consciousness in its innermost recess, 
for it would have been so much time and labour thrown away 
upon intellects too gross to comprehend his refined teaching. 

This was left tor Jesus to do, and he effects this by 
refusing to allow hie disciples to entertain the knowledge of 
sacerdotal evil in their consciousness, and enforces his protest 
by refusing to combat the antagonism of others as an evil or 
injury. He counsels his hearers to return good for evil, to 
be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect, who does not 
see as man sees, and consequently knows no such human 
distinction or division of moral from physical force, for in his 
eyes nature is i( all very good." The sun in the centre of 
this planetary system shines upon all alike, both on just and 
unjust. He is kind, said Jesus, both to the thankful and 
those who thank him not, and to the wicked. He can have no 
enemies, but those who are enemies to themselves. He 
gives to those who make him an enemy : sinners are self- 
punishers, for God does not seek their punishment, on the 
contrary he is willing that they should turn and embrace the 
law of life. He judges no man, to judge he would have to 
condemn, to condemn is to acknowledge evil. 

The expressions made use of in the Bible, relative to 
God's hatred and destruction of his enemies, are relative to 
mankind's own standards of truth, and are the prophets' 
adaptations to human views of justice. They are not God's 
views, for he is not the Father or God of men at all. If the 
cattle of the field perish without divine aid, so does man. 
This question of divine and special providence w T as pressed 
upon Jesus of Nazareth, and two cases were brought before 
him for his opinion. The first was Pilate's brutal massacre of 



SACERDOTAL THEISM COMBATED BY JESUS CHRIST. 329 



certain Galileans, and the second the fall of Siloam's tower, 
and the question was put to him, if these unhappy victims 
were special objects of divine vengeance for their sins? Now 
this query is one that cuts down to the marrow of the 
subject of divine providence over man, for if there be divine 
aid, how does it operate ? Is it by law, or by interference 
and suspension of all law ? If it operates by law, how is it 
in case of exceptions which we see, and how does it operate 
if interference is arbitrary and capricious ? And by parity 
of reasoning, how is the standard of good and evil regulated? 
for upon this all-important scale of morality we must 
depend for the regulation of our reward and punishment, 
which it is most important to know, inasmuch as it is the 
foundation of our religion, and involves the great question of 
our future state. 

Christ's answer is prompt and plain, so plain and straight- 
forward, that there can be no more quibbling about good and 
evil, or reward and punishment; and there can be no 
foundation whatever for the assumption of a future state, 
based upon this theory of theological evil. He says, that the 
men in the cases quoted were not sinners above others, and 
were not singled out for punishment by divine providence ; 
and that unless his hearers embrace the eternal word of life, 
they shall every man of them likewise ultimately perish. 
That is the solution of the fiercely debated question of 
divine providence by Jesus of Nazareth. There is then no 
divine providence for mankind in the way theologians preach 
of it. There is no more regard for good than there is 
vengeance upon the bad men with God. All men perish 
alike, they lie down and perish like sheep. This is endorsing 
Solomon's declaration in the Ecclesiastes, that there is one 
death, or one event, to all men alike, all perish just as the 
brutes do. Let a man be righteous or wicked, good and 
clean, or let him be a filthy beast ; let him be religious and 
offer sacrifice, or let him be a scoffer and sacrifice not, let him 
be virtuous or let him be evil, let him be truthful or a per- 
jurer, it matters not, there is one fate before all, they all 
alike perish for ever. 



330 



MOSES AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. 



The mind of man is not clean in the sight of absolute good, 
let man be ever so righteous, insanity lurks in all minds 
while men live, and afterwards they all indiscriminately go 
to the dead. A living dog is better than a dead lion, and a 
living beggar is better than a dead king, for the living do 
know one thing, viz., that they shall die eventually, but as 
for the dead they know absolutely nothing, neither have they 
any more hope of a reward, for their memory is forgotten. 

Jesus declared that his mission was to the poor, the blind, 
the deaf, the dregs of society, because they were more likely 
to acknowledge their need of some cure, than those who in- 
tuitively supposed themselves to be the " elect " or saints of 
God. Jesus regarded all sin in man, as Solomon treats it, 
as the result of dementia, or lurking insanity. He treated 
sin as a disease, as a sort of internal itch, a something that 
could be cleared off by the operation of powerful fluid; a 
derangement of cerebration, that must be treated not meta- 
physically or mystico-psychologically as the rabbins taught, 
but as if these evil thoughts were the excremention of an 
insane state requiring the purging of an electric fire, and 
that fire nothing less than the fire baptism of the eternal 
power. As water baptism clears the skin, so fire baptism 
attacks the bodily obstructions of insanity ; for all mental 
perversion is organical obstruction, malformation, or decay. 
To treat mental unsoundness upon abstract theological 
assumptions was not Jesus' task. He left that system for 
the regenerating rabbins, and a pretty mess they made of 
their work, as he shewed them. 

The word of life in the mouth of Christ was a fire of 
such searching power that it pierced down to the centres of 
life in man. Paul declared from his experience, that it 
cleaved down to the sundering of joints and spinal marrow, 
it cut to the quick, or to the centres of life in him, sharper 
than any two edged sword. 

Now it is plain, from Jesus' teaching and life, that the self- 
righteous, or intuitively conscious saints, are beyond the aid 
of a physician, because they don't see their mental unsound- 
ness. They neither murder nor break the smallest of any of 



DIVINE WORSHIP OF THE PHYSICIAN-PRIEST. 331 

the ten commandments, and they never did ; moreover, they 
imagine themselves elect. But as it is a matter of relative 
goodness after all, they may suffer from latent insanity, such 
as ill temper, pride, malice, undying hatred, and narrow or 
dull-minded bigotry and envy, and so are practically lost in 
sin after all. 

From one unfortunate woman Jesus cast what is orientally 
called seven devils, she was the victim of a complicated case 
of unsound mental, and consequently organic disease, and 
she knew her state, and was prepared to receive the quick- 
ening, renewing power of the spirit of life. But how was it 
with the Jewish clergy, scribes, law expounders, and 
pharisees, who taught that the kingdom of immortality was 
the privilege of the " elect," that is, of those learned in the 
Sinaitic law ? These pious folks paraded their experiences, 
new births, and other saintly gifts, just as our modern 
pharisees or separatists do, who sit upon exclusive com- 
mittees of salvation, and constitute themselves pronouncers 
general of eternal damnation, to the great admiration and 
applause of all who are of such small mental calibre as 
enables them to fire the same very light pounder moral shot. 
They cannot see that the characters highly applauded among 
men are abomination in God's sight, in whose eyes we are 
told the greatest abhorrence may be a character highly 
esteemed among men. 

The Jews of Jesus' time were a pattern to the surround- 
ing nations, they were a sober and industrious race, there was 
but little of that great staring prostitution of women that 
out-blazed the sun in other countries, there was some dissi- 
pation and loose living it is true, for Jerusalem was an 
attraction for all people then, and among these Hebrews, so 
superior to the world in general, the church-frequenting 
portion, the pharisees, and others, were to human eyes a 
pattern even to the Jews themselves. But what does Jesus 
say to these saints ? does he ever use strong language, but to 
those people ? Why, he has no expression too bitter, no 
form of words that could be used by him or any one else 
that convey meanings so pregnant with scorn, contempt, and 



332 



MOSES AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. 



abhorrence as he used against the theologians of that day. 
He compares them to serpents, and poisonous adders, and 
concludes with the njost dreadful denunciation he could pos- 
sibly utter, he tells them that it is absolutely impossible for 
them to escape from the damnation of hell. And why ? 
Because they were unwilling to acknowledge their own 
ignorance, or allow anyone to shew them their error, and 
refused to permit any enlightenment of the poor people, for 
fear of the destruction of their vested interest in time- 
honoured abuses, and tyrannical usurpations. The God of 
these elect J ews, by their teaching, was as narrow-minded a 
being as themselves ; his ways and doings according to their 
catechism of theism was a caricature of justice, and to 
all intents and purposes, as far as the mass of men were con- 
cerned, they were better without any such Deity altogether. 

The very same tiling holds good in this day, and fully 
justifies the assevertions of those who contend that the current 
idea of God is misleading, irreverent, and utterly repugnant 
to all sound notions of absolute truth and justice. 

The truth is, the entire scheme of theism is vitiated by the 
false position taken by man in the scale and order of nature. 
Let man descend from his pedestal of self-assumed immor- 
tality, let him understand the nature of his mind, that he is 
mortal, and that he must have a higher nature given him 
before he can really know God, and then the jarring and dis- 
cordant noise of contending theists, will be regarded as a 
public nuisance. 

The eternal problem of evil existing as absolute force in 
nature has bothered the wits, and deranged the minds of 
the millions of the human race. Upon this foundation-stone of 
fundamental antithesis of theological good and evil, all ancient 
and modern sacerdotal science has built its temples, churches, 
conventicles, and ranting chapels. And this is continued in 
Christendom, in defiance of the warning in the opening scene 
in the great drama of life in the Bible, that with this asphyx- 
iating compound, the serpent poisoned the first messengers 
of the true God, by pouring the leprous distilment into 
their ears by means of his lying tongue. 



333 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 

In preceding chapters the proposition was attempted to be logi- 
cally formulated, that nature is marsupial to the human race, and 
since man, as a mode of universal existence, is still in a fcetal 
condition of growth and life, in the great womb of cosmical 
gestation, it follows that he is yet unborn to the glorious fact of 
self-existent or immortal life. If this position has not been 
truly demonstrated, it must, in the present work at all events, 
pass for its worth as an hypothesis open to debate in the 
philosophy of logical probabilities. In the meanwhile, for 
a specimen of the absurd method of pleading which intui- 
tionalists and others adopt, to prove their claim to immortal 
self-existence, I furnish an extract from the " Observations 
" upon e Eeligio Medici,' " written by Sir Thomas Browne, 
M.D., of Norwich, of "Sir Kenelm Digby, published in the 
seventeenth century. 

This erudite Digby protests against Dr. Browne's confes- 
sion, that the immortality of the human soul is not capable of 
logical demonstration by any exact method of scientific 
proof, but must be assumed gratuitously, or " taken for 
" granted," without evidence, as a matter of faith, or in- 
tuitional consciousness. Sir K. Digby boldly asserts, that 
the immortality of the human disembodied soul is demon- 
strable by a man of science, and he offers for the reader's 
acceptance, the following sublimely ludicrous piece of 
" shoddy " made logic, for genuine syllogistic argument. 
Digby says : — 



334 THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 



" I assure you, my lord, the little philosophy that is allowed 
ee me for my share, demonstrates this proposition to me, as 
" well as faith delivereth it, which our good physician will 
" not admit in his. To make good this assertion here were 
" very unreasonable, since to do it exactly, (and without 
(( exactness, it were not demonstration,) requires a total 
" survey of the whole science of bodies, and of all the opera - 
" tions that we are conversant with, of a rational creature; 
" which I having done with all the succinctness I have been 
" able to explicate so knotty a subject with, hath taken me 
" up in the first draught near two hundred sheets of 
" paper (!) I shall, therefore, take leave of this point with 
" only this note, that I take the immortality of the soul, 
" under his favour, to be of that nature, that to them only 
" that are not versed in the ways of proving it by reason, it 
" is an article of faith, to others it is an evident conclusion of 
u demonstrative science." 

There is a practice known to schoolboys by the term 
c< fudging." It might, for the credit of schoolboy nature, 
be supposed that this unfair method of solving difficult pro- 
blems would be confined to marbles. It is, however, some- 
times resorted to in the case of arithmetical or mathematical 
perplexities. 

Thus we may imagine the case of a youth who has 
exhausted all his persuasive powers upon some refractory 
case in duodecimals, and is at length mentally prostrate 
under the combined influences of nervous irritability and 
impatience, bordering upon absolute despair, for what with 
his tears, and his frequent application of snuffling nose to 
coat cuffs, &c, wiping and rubbing his slate, it has become so 
impracticably greasy, as to be no longer a fitting instrument, 
obediently to the frantic efforts of his "grubby" fingers and 
pencil, to receive hieroglyphical numerals of mental efforts. 
The baffled student resorts in his distress to some school 
fellow who has " done " the sum before him, or perhaps finds 
a tutor's desk open, wherein chances to be a key ; clutching 
the answer, he has only to make the two ends of his subject 
meet ; and he is no school boy if he cannot achieve this feat. 



ORDINARY MODE OF SOLVING DIFFICULT PROBLEMS. 335 



In a marvellously short period of time the whole working of 
his sum, beautifully drawn out with conscientious scrupu- 
losity of detail, may be found in his ciphering book, but alas ! 
it will not bear too rigid inspection, for it has been "fudged;" 
and there is a dreadful "wolf" concealed in the scales of the 
sweet looking arithmetical music, so that a few minutes 
performance upon the ingeniously contrived instrument in 
question, would suffice to disclose the frightfully unsound 
foundation of the novel process resorted to to solve difficult 
problems. The youth, whose performance is now under rigid 
investigation, has worked up to a foregone conclusion, and 
made the answer shew itself just as it was wanted for the 
particular occasion. Just so it has been with this erudite 
philosopher, Sir Kenelm Digby. He admits having used two 
hundred sheets of paper in finding the answer which he had 
previously determined to be possessed of before he set out to 
seek it. And then, blinking the fact that he has not solved 
the riddle, propounded in the " Ecclesiastes," of numbering 
the thing that is wanting, Digby coolly wishes his reader to 
understand that he has actually squared the circle. He does 
not directly say as much, but he " fudges " his argument by 
shuffling away edgeways like a crab, and saying, " I shall 
" take leave of this point, &c. ! " 

Sir Thomas Browne, the worthy physician whom -Digby 
criticises so freely, is a much fairer man than his assailant, 
but he is a jumble of paradoxes. He actually maintains that 
those people who deny the possibility of witchcraft are a 
sort of infidels and atheists; whilst he himself is, on the 
other hand, so amazingly superstitious as to believe that 
disembodied ghosts or spirits may hold sexual intercourse with 
either man or woman ! Browne's definition of faith is 
eminently that conventional misapplication of metaphysical 
thought that has no many million followers in the world. 
Dr. Browne maintains that there are not impossibilities enough 
in his faith to please him, for to believe only possibilities is 
not faith but philosophy ; and yet he does not scruple to 
condemn transubstantiation, on the ground of its repugnance 
to the deliverance of philosophic thought. He says, that to 



336 



THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 



believe in only one inhabited world is a conclusion of "faith!" 
He means of " ignorance," which, with many more of the 
genus homo besides himself, passes for faith. 

In one place he maintains that God has not made a 
creature that can comprehend him, for such comprehension 
is a privilege of his own nature, and cannot see that if this 
is God's own privileged nature, so also is self-existence or 
immortal life, which he claims for man. The nature of the 
holy and eternal Spirit is unknotvn, he says, and admits, at 
page 143, that conventional theism has no truth in it for 
him. The precise words employed by him are: — 

" I do confess I am an atheist, I cannot persuade myself 
" to honour what the world adores." For he contends that 
the actual God of the world at large is "self-interest;" and 
that men have postulated their own deities to kotou to. 

In another place he says : — 

" I perceive that the wisest heads prove, at last, almost all 
" sceptics, and stand Janus-like in the field of knowledge." 

Dr. Browne's cosmical philosophy would surely satisfy the 
ostrich-like digestion of the most erudite among metaphysi- 
cal pundits. He says at page 69 : — 

" God being all things is contrary unto ?wthing, out of which 
" (sic) were made all things, and so nothing become some- 
" thing, and omneity informed nullity into an essence." 

At page 171 we find the following exegesis of the dogmas 
of immaterialists : — 

" In our study of anatomy, there is a mass of mysterious 
" philosophy, and such as reduced the very heathens to 
il divinity ; yet amongst all those rare discourses and curious 
" pieces I find in the fabric of man, I do not so much con- 
" tent myself, as in that I find not there is an organ or 
u instrument for the rational soul ; for in the brain, which 
" we term the seat of reason, there is not anything of 
" moment more than I can discover in the cranium of a 
" beast, and this is a sensible and no inconsiderable argument 
" of the inorganity of the soul, at least in that sense we 
" usually so conceive it." 

When Sir Thomas Browne leaves the studio of pains- 



sir thomas Browne's mystic notions. 337 



taking experimental philosophers, engaged in the elucidation 
and application of cosmical and calculable conditions of 
existence, he loses his way in the meandering labyrinth of 
the unconditioned immaterial metaphysicians, and confesses 
to the miserable fact of being conscious of some of the 
most absurd, contradictory, and unnatural ideas that ever 
man was plagued with. Speaking, at page 94, of the sacer- 
dotal postulate of hell fire for roasting disembodied souls, he 
admits his inability to say how fire can be the essence of 
hell, or how this fire may preserve in place of burning up 
the dead— but he takes the metal gold as an illustration 
of incombustibility, ignoring the fact that a certain degree 
of heat will volatilize even this apparently indestructible 
metal. He cuts the knot of difficulty by asserting, as dogmati- 
cally as if he had been educated for a professor of theology, 
that the lost spirits will lie immortal in the arms of hell 
fire ! 

The editor, Mr. J. A. St. John, attaches a note to these 
singular lucubrations of the Norwich physician, which is 
pertinent to the present discussion, and may perhaps prove 
serviceable to some people of the Browne cast of mind, who 
have not had their attention directed to this note in the 
"Keligio Medici." Mr. St. John says:— 

" This is a striking example of the melancholy habit which 
(C possessed the author of haunting the limits of the unknown. 
" Like Yathek, he seems to have burned with the desire of 
" discovering what is hidden from us, more because it is 
" hidden than from any benefit which the knowing of it 
" would confer. In my opinion, one of the wisest rules that 
" can be observed in study, is to eschew those subjects which 
" afford no footing to the mind ; among which we must 
" certainly reckon all speculations on the effects of the 
" material elements upon the soul, though we see that, in 
" our present state, their influence extends to the innermost 
ie recesses of our spirits." 

It is a fact known to readers of ancient Hebrew rabbinical 
literature, that the Jewish doctors of theology were fre- 
quently engaged in the entertaining amusement of deranging 

z 



338 



THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 



each other's judgment in trying to unriddle enigmas of their 
own composing. One of their learned battles is reported to 
have turned upon the important position as to whether Adam 
and Eve (assumed to have been the first pair of human 
beings upon earth) had either or both of them a " navel." 

The proper elucidation of this singular question was really 
one of considerable importance, inasmuch as it involved 
nothing less than the sacerdotal dogma respecting the pre- 
ternatural creation of mankind, — because if it could be 
satisfactorily established as an incontcstible fact that Adam 
and Eve possessed " navels," it might very readily be subse- 
quently proved that they would in such case certainly have 
been born into the world in the ordinary way. 

But if, on the other hand, these two postulated first human 
beings did not exhibit any traces of the attachment of an 
umbilical cord, they would be satisfactory evidence of the 
contra-natural fabrication of mankind, Q. E. D. Then the 
question occurred, How did the offspring of Adam and Eve 
inherit bodily conditions which their parents did not actually 
possess to transmit to them ? This dilemma would neces- 
sarily call for another special fabricating interposition of 
providence in behalf of " navels." Again, what was Adam's 
age when he was full grown? What age was Eve when cut 
out of Adam ? These, and a thousand speculations of a like 
character, were indulged in by literati, who would have 
stigmatized all true scientific induction as mere rational- 
ism, just as sacerdotalists do in these days, and who would 
have resented, as gross injustice, any poisoned arrows of 
satirical wit aimed at their gross ignorance and correlative 
impudence. 

To such an extent has the art of reading hieroglyphic 
writing decayed in the world, that many otherwise erudite 
people, when they come to peruse the collection of symbolic 
records in Genesis, believe that the "angel of the Lord" 
turned tailor for the occasion when Adam and Eve were 
supposed to be reduced, by the Devil, to the ludicrous pre- 
dicament of requiring clothing as well as cookery for the 
first time in their mundane existence. 



SACERDOTAL POSTULATION. 



339 



The account in Genesis, however, evidently refers to the 
oriental tradition of man's true origin ; and it is introduced 
to emphasize the fall of the two first witnesses of Deity upon 
earth to the level of perishable man, subsequent to their 
breach of pre-ordained conditions of self-existence. 
The eastern tradition alluded to is as follows : — 
<tf Man was originally little superior to the beasts of 
" the field, he knew his mother, but not his father ; 
" and living in a savage state he cared only to satisfy the 
u cravings of nature, devouring all parts of an animal for 
" food, he threw away what he did not require when his 
" hunger was satisfied, and clothed himself with the 
" skins." 

The same contest between sacerdotal and cosmical philoso- 
phy that now rages in this world was going on in remote 
ages. Sacerdotalists contended then, just as they do now, 
that " man was, in the beginning, of a nature essentially 
ec holy." Meaning by the term " holy " a theological condi- 
tion of preternatural existence. 

This controversy, figuratively alluded to in Genesis, is part 
of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

Natural or positive philosophers have always maintained 
that mankind have their origin in the same great chain of 
interdependent relations that develops life and growth in one 
universal circle of cosmical process, analogous to gestation. 
They maintain that the origin of nature in general, by a 
peculiar theological construction, and of man in particular, 
by another preter or contra-natural act, and the upholding of 
this nature by an indefinite Supreme Cause, postulated as 
existing above, beyond, and outside of that omnipresent 
vitality that is inherent in the conditions of cosmical, gesta- 
tory life, growth, and development, must be set aside as 
being transparently nothing better than gratuitous assump- 
tions of that school of ultra-metaphysical mysticism, whence 
is derived the religion and morality of free will and respon- 
sibility from cognition of theistic good and evil. 

The appearance of that well-known work, the " Vestiges 
" of Creation," was the signal for the rising of such a hurri- 

z 2 



340 



THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 



cane of bigoted abuse as the public have rarely seen. The 
great body of theologians and their camp followers condemned 
the "vestiges" in their customary offhand style from mere 
hearsay, or after skimming over the surface of the book, 
from a page or two of objurgatory literary effusion in some 
pseudo-pious review, thereby unconsciously putting their im- 
maculate backs under the lash of Dean Swift's withering 
satire, where he describes such critics as men, — 

"Who judge a work by scouring through the index; as 
" though a traveller should go about to describe a palace, 
w when he had seen nothing but the privy; or like certain 
" philosophers in Northern America who have a way of fore- 
" telling a man's destiny by peeping into his breech." 

Of the " Vestiges of Creation," Professor Baden Powell 
truly says, — 

" Whatever may be thought of the theory or speculation, 
" as such, nothing can be more utterly and palpably unjustifi- 
u able than the charge of an irreligious tendency against a 
" work in which almost every page is replete with expressions 
" of direct homage to the divine power, wisdom, and good- 
" ness of God." 

Although it is generally admitted that the developmentary 
hypothesis contained in this book is untenable, nevertheless, 
the spur has been therein applied to the flagging human mind 
to urge it forward in pursuit of some better knowledge of the 
originative source, the preservation and ultimate extinction 
species, than is obtainable from sacerdotalists and others in- 
terested in maintaining artificial systems of preternaturalism. 

Respecting the precise date assignable to man's appearance 
upon this planet, it is certain that evidence forthcoming from 
geological discoveries is, and must necessarily be, imperfect. 
Indeed if any light is to be thrown upon the subject by 
geology, further time must be allowed for training the human 
mind in the school of patient investigation, studying calcu- 
lable conditions of cosmical life and growth. 

Baron Bunsen and others, have stipulated for fourteen 
thousand years at least, for the limit of the historical eras of 
human existence, but another fifty or sixty thousand years 



ORIGIN, EXTINCTION, AND PRESERVATION OF SPECIES. 341 



to be added to this, for pre-historic periods would not alter 
the fact that the human species, in all varieties, is indebted for 
its origin to those gestating labours of natural force that have 
been so little studied by theologians, that are so difficult of 
comprehension by self-constituted upholders of unconditioned, 
lawless, and haphazard efforts, called special providences, and 
so eagerly ignored, and thrust on one side by men who are 
anxious to prove the necessity for the preter or contra-natural 
interpositions of a power which they postulate for the 
occasion, and set down "hab nab, at random;" just as if the 
omnipresent force of the vitality, inherent in natural concep- 
tions, was subject to fits of exhaustion and syncope, and while 
in this wretched state, like a humanly made steam engine left 
to itself, should be unable to keep its complicated machinery 
moving in duly appointed course, but required urging for- 
ward with miraculous interferences for proper conservation of 
necessary law and order. 

The human species may have existed when the earth- 
pounding tread of the ponderous Dinotheria roused the 
reverberating echoes in the comparative solitude of primeval 
forests ; but it is equally probable that the eye of man was 
surveying the scenery of pre -mammalian eras, when the 
huge sauroid monsters floundered and wallowed in their 
mundane, watery, and muddy wastes ! Was the air-ocean of 
this planet in such a vitalized condition as to support warm- 
blooded creatures, delicately lunged like man, and other 
mammals on the dry land? For if it was not, and it 
can be distinctly shewn, from analogy of natural his- 
torical facts, that mankind, as a species in the cosmical 
inventory of categorical thoughts, had a definite commence- 
ment, is it not within the circling waves of probable 
eventualities, that they must, as the initial type of a higher 
order of organized intelligences, share the fate that has over- 
taken the sauroid monsters, and the huge paleotheria and 
mylodonic creatures that have been swept with the re- 
morseless besom of destruction into the great open-mouthed 
pit of everlasting death ? 

<c Species," says Professor Agassiz, "although they may not 



342 



THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 



" have material existence as individuals, nevertheless, do exist 
" as categories of thought. These specified ideas, or modes of 
" one universal existence, are as evanescent as kaleidoscopic 
" images, and are permanent only so long as certain external 
" enveloping cosmical conditions remain the same." Now 
what change in enveloping conditions can be more powerful in 
its action upon kaleidoscopic species than the constantly 
shifting disposition of material atoms of magnetic force in 
the air-ocean of the planets in which, fish-like, they inspire 
their vital breath. 

It may be urged that we have no evidence of the opera- 
tion of any such calculable cosmical process as results in 
atmospheric changes so powerful in their nature as would 
be necessary to account for the extinction of some species, 
the change in others, and bringing in of new species, phoenix- 
like from the ashes of the old. But what does man know of 
the functions of those electro-magnetoid comets? or why 
does tradition persist in assigning vague impressions of by- 
gone revolutionary changes, to the appearance of these 
mysterious messengers of meteorological and corresponding 
political and social commotions? 

Where is the astronomer that knows enough to refute Sir 
Isaac Newton's grasp of analogical generalization, when he 
said that he suspected that it was from the " comets" that the 
planets derived that " spirit" which, although constituting so 
small a relative proportion of their enclosing atmospheric 
life-blood, was nevertheless absolutely necessary for the sus- 
tenance of all organized creatures existing on the planet's 
surface ? 

What do astronomers (we may eliminate theologians 
from the question) know of the scientific meaning attaching 
to the expression respecting the sweet influence of the 
" Pleiades" in the book of Job ? And what do sacerdotalists 
know of the true philosophic reason which induced the 
Oriental magi to journey westwards to Syria, when a 
cometary star heralded the birth of the Son of Man, in 
Bethlehem, some nineteen hundred years ago? Should a 
similar cometary sign be hung flaming from the sky now-a- 



ASTROLOGICAL PHILOSOPHY. 



343 



days, is there any one to read the " Mene, Mene, Tekel" that 
the messenger's finger traces against the proud pretensions of 
modern Babylon? 

Men say glibly that astronomy has superseded astrology, 
but it has done nothing of the sort. True it is that empirical 
astrologers, who were mainly sacerdotalists, have been 
knocked on the head as they truly deserve to be. But 
astronomy, in the modern acceptation of the term, has turned 
astrology into mere planetology, which practically constitutes 
the sun the centre of the cosmos. This is doubtless an advance 
upon the effete theological dogma that made this globule of 
a planet the centre of the universe ; but after all, where is 
that old astrological science, of which a gleam flashes 
out here and there from the ancient Hebrew writings? 
and where it is openly proclaimed in the hieroglyphic 
writings of Genesis, in which it is stated that the 
"stars" were constituted for signs and seasons as well as 
measurement of time ? Now time is only another term for 
conditional force, and since force is all conditioned before it 
can be cognised by man, it follows, that to acquire progressive 
knowledge of causation, time, or force, must not be measured 
solely by sun and moon, but by stars also, for the sun is not 
the true cosmical centre. He (or perhaps after all, she) is 
only a brilliant star point in a ring of cosmical matter sur- 
rounding a mighty central world beyond man's perception; 
and this might in turn be only a point in another ring of 
stellar drops circling a still higher star. 

However, it is consoling to find that all men are not sleep- 
ing like the dead in this self-complacent ignorance. Here 
is a watchman looking wistfully at the rising dawn that 
promises a return of daylight after the arctic winter night 
of the human mind. The voice is that of the well-known 
Professor George Wilson, whose words, in a paper entitled 
" Excursus in Technology," appears in " Macmillan's Maga- 
" zine," for November, 1859. He says: — 

" The sun, the moon, and stars are writing * * * * 
" every day on every surface. The pens which they use are 
" of amazing length. I have elsewhere called the electric 



344 



THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS TIT. 



" pen the long pen, and it is by far the longest earthly pen ; 
" but it is a mere stump, or pencil point, when compared in 
" length to the pen which the sun stretches in space to us ; 
" and the sun's pen is nothing in length to those with which 
" more distant suns write upon the earth across the vast 
M abysses of space. 

" These are the oldest, as well as longest, and among the 
(< swiftest of pens. The mode in which the dust settles on 
" a floor, or a wall, the gathering of the dew on the leaves 
" of a flower, the fading of colour from a carpet, or a 
w curtain, are all determined by those wondrous beams of 
" solar and abysmal light, which draw and paint upon this 
" globe with catholic impartiality every object which pre- 
" sents itself to their pencils. At present most of us are 
" indifferent to these wondrous pictures, we blot them out 
" almost before they are executed, and do not appreciate 
" them even when we preserve them. But we are quickly 
u learning better, and in our meteorological observatories, 
M the swift and unerring pen of light is now from moment 
" to moment chronicling for us in indelible ink, the 
11 magnetic, barometric, thermometric, electric, and other 
" fluctuations of the great physical forces of the universe." 

We learn from geological discoveries that there is good 
reason for believing that all the great types of life in nature 
begin simultaneously and independently, and that the subse- 
quent introduction of new genera and species appears to be 
only a modification of pre-existing types, so that the idea of 
progressive advance from lower to higher modes of existence 
in any single line of ascent is not a tenable hypothesis, but 
requires modification into something like the "net work" 
theory of Professor Owen. 

Since creation must mean pro-creation and material con- 
ception, and as there can be but one circle of life proceeding 
from a conjugating bifold cause that is due to the relationship 
subsisting between a great duality, indefinitely extended in 
time and space, then " species " must mean temporal modifi- 
cations of one great primordial germ of begotten life. 

If the human species are not within the great circle of 



HIEROGLYPHIC PICTURE OF THE VALLEY OF DEATH. 345 



cosmical life and growth, what in fortune's name are they ? 
If they are unconditioned creatures, transcending natural 
processes, they may unconcernedly regard the signs that 
herald the extinction of other species ; but if they are truly 
conditioned modes or modifications of one existence, then, 
being a species in nature's catalogue having a specifie 
number, indicating a definite commencement as one of the 
great links in the chain of causative energy, is it not certain 
that they must, when their predestined time has run its 
course, have one end, since time is synonymous with defined 
or limited force : and thus man is like the rest of the mamma- 
lian orders, a being that once was not, or that had no time, but 
now has an allotted time, or now is and hereafter shall not 
be, his appointed vital force fluxing into the other collective 
arrangements of the cosmos? Can man pass unscathed 
through that never-quenched fire, and undying worm of 
decomposition and destruction that licks up with fiery tongue 
the old wastes of decaying eras, and prepares a renewed 
stage for the existence of beings transcending the old species, 
who are endowed with imperishable organizations ? 

That the fire which burns, and the maggot which con- 
sumes, are not limited in their action to the brutes below 
man, the Bible warns us. The disciples of Jesus were 
cautioned, that the road which led to immortality was so 
narrow, uphill, and slippery, that few ever found it, or kept 
it when found. 

On the other hand, when the messenger of judgment lifts 
up the curtain which hangs before the bottomless pit, there 
is exhibited a vast herd of mankind, who journey along a 
level, well-paved, straight, and broad high-road that is easy 
to find ; which any one may indeed walk blind-folded, there 
are no finger posts indicating doubts, no mile stones speaking 
of measured distances to be tramped over ; and yet this high- 
way, though so level, broad, and down hill, does not contri- 
bute to the making of a pleasant journey for all. Nay, to 
most travellers it proves at best a toilsome walk, until they 
contrive to scramble into the softy cushioned carriages of 
civilization. Down hill they go, some singing, and others 



346 



THE BEAST OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT. 



croaking, and groaning prayers and psalms, as if for heaven 
bound, and dragging along blind companions by the hand, 
many mentally intoxicated, shouting, whooping, screeching, 
swearing and blaspheming, idle, careless, and light headed ; 
but many more, leaden weighted with care, poverty stricken, 
sick, sullen, and sad, casting wistful looks behind them for 
some echo of pleasanter scenes and happier hours, from 
which time's hard-hearted myrmidons have dragged them 
away, to leave behind for ever. In all this throng of people 
there is no standing still, no sitting down, no turning back, 
do what they will, with all their much-vaunted freedom of 
action, they cannot singly, or all united, stop for one second 
the resistless pressure of relentless time, whose rolling wheels 
crush them downwards and onwards without pause. A never- 
ceasing, never-ending, struggling, striving mass of human 
life, in which young and old, rich and poor, single, married, and 
widowed, fathers and hobble-de-hoys, mothers and sucking 
ones, brothers and sisters are all seen journeying onwards, 
till they are suddenly lost to sight as they disappear through 
the portals of a grim-visaged yawning gate, never closed 
night or day, but which keeps incessantly importuning in a 
dismal croaking voice, with rusty hinged accents, " Give, 
<e give, give." From the country, into which the road that 
runs through this gate is supposed to lead, there is no return, 
for it opens on the extreme edge of an awful precipice, and 
that no less a pitfall than the great fixed gulf of the bottom- 
less pit of ETERNAL DEATH. 



347 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

The conventional opinion entertained of the day of judg- 
ment has been inimitably satirized by that master of the art 
of ridicule, Dean Swift, in one of his miscellaneous pieces, 
entitled, " A true and faithful narrative of the anticipated 
ei last day, and destruction of the earth by a comet." 

Among other particulars enumerated of the proceedings 
of various parties, in preparation for the anticipated catastro- 
phy, Swift mentions the following (but students of theology 
should diligently peruse the whole in the original) : — 

"A grave elderly lady, of great erudition and modesty, 
" seemed extremely shocked by the apprehension that she 
" was to appear naked before the whole world, and no less so 
" that all mankind was to appear naked before her, which 
" might so much divert her thoughts as to incapacitate her to 
" give ready and apt answers to the interrogatories that might 
" be made to her. * * * * One would have thought that 
" the whole city had been really and seriously religious ; but 
w what was very remarkable, all the different persuasions 
" kept by themselves, for as each thought the other would 
" be damned, not one would join in prayer with the other." 

The expected cataclysm of cometary fire, however, did 
not take place as was confidently predicted, and implicitly 
believed. So the Dean observes that 

" All the quality and gentry were perfectly ashamed, nay 
<e some utterly disowned that they had manifested any signs 
" of religion, and with the common people appeared with 



348 



THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



" their usual indifference, they drank, they whored, they 
Ci swore, they lied, they cheated, they quarrelled, they 
" murdered, in short the world went on in the old channel." 

Men have always chosen the arbitration of armed bat- 
talions to settle their disputes, and the law of might in 
civilization does practically legalize the right, whatever fine 
wire-drawn theories professors of jurisprudence and states- 
men may select for the edification of their admirers and 
supporters. " Judge not, and ye shall not be judged," is a 
law of the universe. Judgment invokes judgment, and from 
this there is no escape; for just as every shout raises some- 
where an echo, so every cry of accusation and condemnation 
necessitates a tu quoque response. So surely does this 
law obtain throughout the cosmos, that even when the witness 
and messenger of Deity comes to judgment, and passes 
sentence of condemnation, crying death to man, he must 
himself submit to the judgment he has invoked himself, and 
die as a man like the rest. Thus all messengers of Deity 
coming to judgment have been liable to the contingency of 
death, and escape is the exception and not the rule. A 
witness of Deity is a martyr to the divine truth. 

Since men have chosen the judgment seat of brute might 
to establish the legal right, they must go to the ordeal they 
have themselves selected ; and thus the last great revolution 
of all is destined to establish the final truth after the sword 
has been struck from Goliah's grasp upon the battle field. 
The place of this last struggle is already marked down. The 
old Hebrew prophets have noted it, and some, like the 
Ezekielite seer, with marvellous detail. In reference to it 
Jesus of Nazareth remarked to his disciples, "Where the 
" carcase falls there will the eagles (symbolical of the 
" nations) be gathered together." 

The Hebrew psalmist say : — 

" The kings of the earth, and their armies, are gathered 
" together against the Lord, and against his anointed One." 

This judgment of the arbitration of the sword against 
itself is not the conventional interpretation of the day of 
judgment. The sacerdotal idea is, that the disembodied 



THE FINAL DANIEL. 



349 



souls of men shall be summoned from Plades, or some 
mysterious locality, and be judged, each one in turn, by the 
great God of heaven and earth, to receive from him their 
individual reward or punishment for all future time. 

It is extraordinary that this false idea should not only be 
held by the heathen, but be even more tenaciously main- 
tained by the professing followers of Jesus of Nazareth, 
who said, that the absolute, infinite, or eternal Father judged 
no man, but had committed all judgment to his Son, because 
he was, as the Son of Man, equally related both to man and 
his postulated judge. 

It will be found, when the ancient Hebrew prophets are 
carefully studied, that each and all proclaim their mission as 
sent to judge, and they all have authority to pull down and 
build up. They may not repeat, like parrots, the same 
words; but their cry is the same, they are each and all 
Daniels, they are each and all "sent ones" to judgment. 
What is true of one chosen or anointed messenger applies in 
principle to them all ; and though a specialized part is allotted 
to each, they are yet witnesses of the one vital word. In 
arithmetic the last number includes all that preceded it, and 
in Hebrew the number " seven " stands for perfection, com- 
pletion, or the end ; therefore when a seventh messenger is 
spoken of, it means that as the seventh he is put into a 
position that completes the circle ; he comes last, and is first 
because the end of the circle meets the point whence it was 
drawn. A seventh, and consequently final prophet, is spoken 
of in the Bible, as a Daniel or divine judge, but it is not the 
fact that this was or is to be J esus of Nazareth. Nowhere 
does Jesus say so. He speaks of the " Son of Man " sent 
to final judgment, and proclaims himself to be a Son of Man, 
but not that special and final one who is to mark the end. 
He tells his disciples that in consequence of his return to 
the Father, this coming witness shall do more wonderful 
things than they then saw performed ; and when, after his 
resurrection, Jesus comes to John, and constitutes him his 
angel or messenger to the seven churches, the expressions 
there made use of by him are not such as to lead any 



350 



THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



unbiassed mind to conclude that he is speaking of himself, 
for he says, " He shall receive, even as I have received of 
ce my Father, and so on. 

So that, whoever this final Son of Man may be, and when- 
ever and wherever he may suddenly appear, as a thiof 
in the night, it is plain that he cannot be Jesus of Nazareth, 
for Jesus has said, " I came not into the world to judge the 
" world, but that the world through me might be saved." 
The world is to be judged thus : " The word that I have 
" spoken, that shall judge a man at the last day." But it is 
not a logical deduction to assert that because Jesus said his 
word then spoken should finally judge the world, that there- 
fore he himself should come to repeat his own word. The 
inference deducible is exactly to the opposite effect. When 
anyone says, " I have not come to transact this business 
" because the time is not arrived to do it, but I leave full 
(t instructions how it is to be done when the hour arrives," 
we naturally conclude that another person, as his agent or 
attorney, is authorised to act for the one who so speaks of 
the future. 

How are we to define the meaning of the sacerdotal day 
of judgment, when its doctors and scribes cannot themselves 
furnish any logical quantities of its extension or comprehen- 
sion? The theological conception of the day of judgment 
is as vague, rambling, undefined, and incomprehensible as 
one of the spirit -rapper's messages from Necropolis. 

When is the theological day of judgment ? To answer 
this, it is essential to know what the term "judgment " 
means. If it means distribution of eternal rewards and 
punishments, then there is no day of judgment, for we are 
told in the Bible, that immortality is not a reward at all, in 
any sense. It is a free gift, and it would cease to be a 
free gift for ever, if it were once, in any single instance, 
made a reward. There is no reward for good, for Deity 
alone is absolutely good, and Deity does not reward himself. 
He can concede it, and impute it where it is so freely given, 
but it is not logical to argue that anyone absolutely rewards 
a man for having a sovereign in his possession, by giving him 



SACEEDOTAL MISCONCEPTIONS. 



351 



another, when both pieces of gold originally came out of the 
same purse, for even if the money was doubled, because 
keeping faithfully the first entitled the conserver to a second 
piece of money, it would de facto be only doubling the 
original gift. If the man lost his first pound, that is punish- 
ment enough. He cannot be eternally punished for losing 
what was necessary for life, and he loses his life and there is 
an end of him. If he had kept his first gift he would have 
had the gift enlarged, and like those circles in a pond that 
result from a stone thrown into it, the first wave would have 
gone on widening for ever. 

Since then eternal life is a freely conceded gift, and not a 
reward, there is no reward, and as there is no reward, neither 
is there eternal punishment. Life is a gift, and death as the 
loss of that gift is the eternal punishment. For if life be 
made eternal, death as its antithesis must be eternal also. 
Otnerwise the words life and death would generate the same 
conception in the mind, and language would stultify common 
sense. 

The day of salvation is declared to be an " eternal now " 
in the Bible. The words are, " Now is the day of salvation." 
If the now here spoken of were not eternal, it would be 
equal to that want of definite or explicit quantification, that 
would reduce the predicated period of salvation to a day 
represented by the expression of " now and then ! " And 
this would make the divine energy the result of caprice or 
inadvertence. The day of salvation must be an eternal now ; 
and as the day of salvation knows no postponed performances, 
in the same way the day of condemnation is an eternal 
now, and cannot be said to refer to postponed punishment. 

Condemnation, or the day of condemnation, has already 
been pronounced upon man, says the Bible, because man, as 
his own name from Adam shows, is, " he who dies," or he 
who lives in the image of dust, and springing from dust 
returns finally to dust again. As in the Adam of man, or 
" image of the dying one," all do perish, so in the Adam or 
Christ of God, shall all who inherit the promised estate be 
made self-existent. 



352 



THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



Jesus did not say that those who heard him, and believed 
not, should be condemned to eternal punishment because 
they did not believe, but he said, " He that believeth not is 
" condemned already." That is to say, condemnation to 
eternal death has already past. Jesus said, I came not to 
condemn; you are under sentence of condemnation already, 
I came to rescue from condemnation, so he that hears and 
believes, shall not perish, or die eternally, but live everlast- 
ingly. 

The day of damnation, just as true as the day of salva- 
tion, is an eternal now before the throne of the infinite and 
unseen eternal. Theologians argue, that though this may be 
so, relative to God, it is not so relative to man himself. But 
the answer is, that man to inherit life everlasting, must be 
born a god himself. "I have said ye are gods." And, 
therefore, whatever is true of the parent in reference to 
eternity of judgment, must equally be true of the child: 
and as aborted births are never registered among the living, 
neither are men, (who in relation to Deity are abortions,) 
any way recorded among the living, and thus it may be said 
of them as Job judged, they are as though they had never 
been born. No one can be registered among the living 
until he is born, and if men never reach the divine birth 
hour, they never see the eternal now of everlasting life. 

The theological idea of the day of judgment, is in flat 
contradiction of many important passages of scripture. 
" There is none that doeth good, no, not one," says the 
psalmist, when prompted by the spirit of prophecy. If all 
have come short of absolute good, how can they be abso- 
lutely rewarded for doing what they have neither done nor 
possibly can hereafter do ? and if no man can achieve the 
performance of absolute good, neither can anyone be 
eternally, that is absolutely, punished for falling short of that 
standard of perfection. All the evil that any man can do 
throughout the longest life allowed him is but relative and 
temporary. Man, therefore, is impotent for absolute good, 
and equally powerless for absolute evil. Man sins, and 
perishes, the soul that sinneth shall die, not live, for ever. 



THE SECOND, OR TRUE BIRTH. 



353 



To give eternal reward for good, and eternal punishment 
for evil, is simply to recognise and endorse the serpent's 
catechism of theistical good and evil. The Bible asserts, 
that God is of purer eyes than to behold this iniquity of 
man. If, therefore, he is of purer eyes than to recognise 
this evil, how can he eternally punish what his prophets 
declare he refuses to acknowledge the existence of? 

Relative to each other, men do wrong, but that is no 
argument that Deity is to interfere. If he did interfere, 
whenever invoked by priests to support their idea of good, 
and to punish their conception of evil, the human race would 
have been exterminated ages ago, and the two last priests 
would have perished with their hands clutching each other's 
throats. 

As men are not absolutely free, they are not absolutely 
responsible, and consequently not liable to eternal punish- 
ment, nor can they claim any inheritance of the estate of 
eternal life. 

Immortality is not a thing for distribution like real and 
personal property. It is part of that paternal estate which 
the Father surrenders and sacrifices during his lifetime 
for his children, and all the children share proportionably, 
irrespective of their relative merits one towards another. 

There is one book much rummaged by Bible worshippers 
in the present age. It is the Apocalypse, which is a sort of 
codification of the unfulfilled portions of Ezekiel and other 
prophets' predictions. It is a series of word painted pictures, 
in hieroglyphics of the end of theological civilization. 

It is said in these Apocalyptic paintings, that the dead 
shall appear before the judgment seat of the Son of Man at 
the last day, but the dead do not come flying through space 
from Hades back to the earth. The dead are lying at the 
bottom of the ocean, and scattered throughout the length and 
breadth of the earth. The dead are to be judged, and how ? 
Certainly not by calling their names out from the book 
wherein are written those of the living. The adjutant and 
his subordinates, in a regiment of soldiers, do not call over 
their muster rolls except to see who are missing from the 

A A 



354 



THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



ranks of the living, the dead will eventually be crossed out 
for ever. The Bible does not say that the dead are inscribed 
upon the same muster roll as those of the living, for it speaks 
of two books. One only is the book of life, and if a man is 
not found written there, he is passed over as one perished; 
and since it is not said that the dead are to be regenerated 
into temporary existence, to be condemned to death again, 
the judge must confine himself to repeating the words spoken 
by Jesus of Nazareth, and as God is the father of the living 
only and not of the dead, then the judgment to be pronounced 
upon the dead is this, that as they are, so they must continue 
dead for ever. 

The dead have perished, that is their end, there is no re- 
membrance by God of these lost ones. He has forgotten 
them, and they are cut off from his life and salvation, God 
will not shew wonders among the dead, nor his faithfulness in 
the land of destruction. So that the very fact of their being 
called the deael is in itself, without further indictment 
accusing witness, or trial, their condemnation sentence and 
execution. The dead are dead, and as such they have 
for ever perished. 

The trumpet call of the messenger of final judgment has 
been described by Jesus of Nazareth in the following way, 
illustrating by his own word and their effects that which was 
to be repeated after him : — 

" The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves 
" (mortal Adam) shall hear His voice, and shall ccme forth 
" (appear ?) ; the righteous to the resurrection of eternal 
" life, and the wicked to the resurrection of condemnation." 

This, he says, just after telling his hearers that he had 
himself come to call the slumberers in the bodies of dust to 
awaken to the voice of the Son of God. All who can hear 
shall live, for as the Father is self-existent, or has life in 
himself, so has he given the Son to have life and self-existence 
in himself, and at the same time has given him authority to 
execute judgment because he is the " Son of Man." 

" The words I speak unto you," said Jesus, " I speak not 
s< of myself the word which ye hear is not mine but the 



THE FATE OF THE DEAD. 



355 



" Father's which sent me. He that rejecteth me, and re- 
" ceiveth not my words has one that judgeth him, the word 
" that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last 
« day." 

Daniel, a preceding prophet, had said that at the voice of 
the seventh and last messenger of Deity, many that slumber 
in the dust of the earth shall be quickened to the real birth 
of divine and immortal life, but others shall be suddenly 
roused to consciousness of their being objects of everlasting 
derision and contempt. 

There is a question that arises here. What is meant by 
"sleeping" in the dust of the earth? It does not mean 
perished in the earth, for it applies to the quick or living. 
Jesus made use of a similar orientalism when he said, " the 
" dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that 
" hear shall live." He spoke of the present and future, for 
he says, " The hour is coming and now is." But there is no 
record of the graves vomiting up their prisoners as he spoke. 
In another place the expression made use of is " let the dead 
" bury their dead." The speech undoubtedly refers to that 
premature birth of mankind, which is implied in the phrase 
mortal life, or deadly life, whence arises the proverb that 
"in the midst of his life man is in death." Existing as a 
mere foetus in the womb of natural processes, man is not born 
truly until he is born again, and this is what Jesus alludes 
to when he says the " dead" shall be quickened to the second 
birth ; it is the same expression as that of Daniel, they " that 
" sleep in the dust of the earth." They that vegetate or 
hybernate as it were in the dust of material growth, and who 
are in relation to the eternal now of everlasting life just as if 
they were actually and absolutely dead. 

The eternal Father judges no man, for that judgment of 
man implies universal condemnation, and if God judged there 
could be no possibility of salvation, because before him shall 
no man living be justified. To rescue from condemna- 
tion, or the ordinary fate of everlasting death, is the unceas- 
ing work of the Lord and Giver of Life. 

The final judgment of mankind has been beautifully 



356 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

depicted as committed to a child, who has no dreadful appa 
rat us of death about him, no fierce lictors, nor grim and 
savage myrmidons of the law, with heavy chains for securing 
rebels in hell fire. He is no stern-featured, be-wigged, and 
ermined old judge ; nothing more dreadful than a simple 
child) who stands alone, guarded only by his innocence and 
the rainbow light of his Father's glory. As the nations and 
people approach him, lie puts no question to them, demands 
no explanations, and neither allows a claim nor accepts an 
excuse, but when their eyes meet, the people come to judg- 
ment read their sentence in that child's silent gaze. There 
is no occasion to say anything, the emotion is too awful and 
overpowering to allow a syllable to be breathed, for they have 
either become suddenly conscious of the quickening throb of 
a newly awakened life in them, in their relationship to that 
child as sons of the same parental Deity, and as such are 
numbered among the living ; or else on the other hand, if the 
child appears a stranger, nothing different to ordinary mortals, 
they recognise no such relationship, and feel an unlooked for 
depression and revulsion of pleasurable feelings. They ex- 
perience that chill which leaves them for the catacombs of the 
mouldering dead. If they are not assured by the lightning 
glance of that child's eye, they will as certainly be petrified 
into stony stagnation by the freezing repulsion of its icy 
stare, and they will either slink away disheartened and down- 
cast, left to their natural inheritance of mortality, or spring 
joyfully to take the place assigned to them in that eternal 
city, where it has been promised that it shall be said to them, 
" Ye are the sons of the living God." 



THE END. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Adam, Significance of the name, 36, 
351. 

Adam and Eve, Fall of, in Paradise, 
35 ; Symbol of divine union in the 
Cosmos, 37,44 ; Kabbalistic account 
of, 284, 338 ; The final witnesses, or 
martyrs for divine truth, 292. 

Agassiz Professor, On material exist- 
ence of species, 341. 

Angels, Messengers of Deity, 48 ; Fall 
of the first on earth, 51, 85, 247; 
Revelation of Deity, in the person- 
ality of, 30, 35, 61, 63, 109, 187, 203 ; 
Jewish tradition respecting, 276, 
280, 284. 

Atheism, Pleading of modern, 77; 
Not an absolute negation of Deity, 
92; Ascribed in error to Sakya, 
260. 

Asiatic Mystery, The,' 246, 250, 253. 

Attributes of Deity, Infinite, Problem 
in logical probabilities, 63 ; as re- 
vealed to Moses, 188; Dr. Cum- 
ming's definition, 206, 218; The 
self-sacrificer, 189, 303, 353. 

Apocalypse, The, Hieroglyphic por- 
trait of Satan, 11 ; Cavalry in 
death's army, 117 ; Declaration of 
Jesus to John respecting his mis- 
sion, 203, 293. 

Argus, The Melbourne, Australian 
newspaper, 118, 128. 

B. 

Babel Tower of, An edifice con- 
structed of books, 38, 47; Ecclesi- 
astes, on, 50. 

Blackstone, Judge, Thomas Hood's 
portrait of, in his wig, 151. 



Baptism, Purification by water and 
by fire, 197 ; Christ's mission, 330. 

Being, Universal, 15, 63, 83. 

Bifold Causation, 15, 17, 44, 344. 

Bible, The, Sealed up with seven 
seals, 33 ; as a text book for pseudo 
scientific lecturers, 41 ; Dr. Chan- 
ning on, 72 ; Dr. dimming on dif- 
ficulties in, 201. 

Bottomless Pit, The, Hieroglyphic 
picture of, 345. 

Browne, Sir Thomas, Religio Medici, 
308, 333, 335, 337. 

Bunsen, The late Baron, The idolatry 
of self- worship, 10, 305 ; on 
Spinoza's philosophy. 60 ; Self- 
destruction, 189. 

Buckle, T. H., History of Civiliza- 
tion, &c, 94 ; Human consciousness, 
104. 

Buchanan, President, On American 
demagogism, 143. 

C. 

Clarke, Dr. Adam, On the serpent 
riddle, 45. 

Carlyle, Thomas, On the fabricating 
theory of creation, 27. 

Channing, Dr., On Sacerdotal des- 
potism, 5 ; Biblical difficulties, 72 ; 
Definition of religion, 85 ; Profess- 
ing Christians, 116 ; Reckless insol- 
vency in America, 141 ; On im- 
mortality, 176. 

Causation, Bifold character of, 18 ; 
Universal existence, 63, 83 ; Cos- 
mology of ancient Jewish rabbins, 
277. 

Cherbourg, The wooden horse to 
capture modern Troy, 237. 



358 



INDEX. 



Creation, Cosmical generation, 15, 2G, 
344 ; Six days of, 44. 

Christ, First revelation in Adam on 
earth, 86 ; not confined to Jesus, 
74; Revelation of, in Moses, 188; 
Final advent, 231; Rev. C. H. 
Spurgeon, on the character and 
office of, 288; Jacob's prediction, 
292 ; Declaration of the ancient 
Hebrew seers, 293, 295. 

Christmas, Rev. II., Lectures on 
science and revealed religion, 39. 

Civilization, Antediluvian, 12; Mr. 
Ruckle's history, 94: In Australia, 
124 ; In China, 251. 

China, au enigma for historic students, 
246; Abbe Hue's travels, 249; 
Social anomalies, 251; Emperor's 
titles, 253; Ruddhism, 255; Em- 
peror's prayer to Deity, 266. 

Combe, George, Definition of the 
word law, 112. 

Cosmism, Contest with sacerdotalism, 
8, 14, 339 ; Hypothesis of Creation, 
28, 344 ; Relative power of human 
volition, 113 ; Theory of Regenera- 
tion, 225 , Jewish Kabbalistie ideas, 
277, 278, 284. 

Coming Man, The, As an iconoclast, 
85 ; Dr. Cumming on the date of 
his appearance, 231 ; Isaiah on his 
advent, 300. 

Conditioned Existence, 10, 15, 19, 97 ; 
Reparation of breaches of, 189. 

Conjugal Union, Of two uncondi- 
tioned entities in the Cosmos, 15, 
344. 

Consciousness Human, Sir W. Ham- 
ilton on, 103 : Perverted, 104; Dr. 
Moore on, 106 ; Sakya on, 262. 

Chronology, erroneously ascribed to 
Moses, 54. 

Curse, On the fallen angels and their 
seducer, 52. 

Cumming Rev. Dr., The great tribu- 
lation coming, 199; On biblical 
difficulties, 201 ; The trinity, 202 ; 
Original sin, 205 ; Miracles, 207 ; 
The spirit of Hebrew poetry, 210 ; 
Orthodox and conscientious reli- 



gions, 213 ; The resurrection, 216, 
221, 227 ; Attributes of Deity, 218 ; 
Sits in judgment upon Deity, 220 ; 
Commentary on the Pauline Epis- 
tles, 223, 226; Office of Jesus of 
Nazareth, 224 ; Zechariah's predic- 
tion, 229 ; Vaticination respecting 
England's destiny, 232. 

D. 

Day of Judgment, Dean Swift's 
satire, 347 ; Hebrew seers on, 348 ; 
An eternal now, 351 ; Hierogly- 
phic picture of, 356. 

Death Eternal, 69, 75. 78, 346, 354; 
Dr. Cumming on, 217, 220; Jesus 
Christ's declaration, 329. 

Defender of the Faith, A Ruddhis 
title, 159. 

Deity, Paternity veiled in material 
processes, 15, 29; T he Great self- 
sacrificer, 10, 189, 303, 353. 

Development Hypothesis, 57 ; Vesti- 
ges of Creation, 340. 

Digby Sir Kenehn, On man's immor- 
tality, 333. 

Drummond, Rev R. B., Reply to Mr. 
Buckle on free will, 99. 

Dual Causation, 15, 25, 65, 344. 

E. 

Edwards, Jonathan, Essay on free 
will, 90. 

Ephraim, The descendants of, Hebrew 
seers prediction respecting the fall 
of their commercial empire, 233, 
236, 241, 243; Patriarch Jacob's 
legacy, 292; The final Messiah 
295. 

Election to Life Eternal, Claim 
urged by the ancient Jews, 3, 48, 
74, 275, 285. 

Emerson, R. "W., Definition of prayer 
to Deity, 10. 

Ecclesiastes, the Book of, Ascribed 
to King Solomon, 47 ; On the tree 
of life in paradise, 49 ; On man's 
cosmical condition, 66, , 280 ; 
On freedom of human volition, 
212. 



INDEX. 



359 



Execution of Criminals, 118 ; Aboli- 
tion of capital punishment, 320. 

Edersheim, Dr., History of the Jews, 
271. 

Ezekiel, The Prophet, On Tyre of 
Ephraim's descendants, 235 ; resur- 
rection in the valley of dry bones 
294. 

Evil, Sacerdotal postulate of a Mani- 
chean war, 14; Forbidden fruit, 
35, 49, 51 ; Dr. Channing on, 177, 
378; Bible doctrine, 179; Pain in 
cosmical gestation, 181 ; Job on the 
problem of, 190. 192 ; Dr. Cum- 
ming on original sin, 205 ; Fountain 
of original sin, 154 ; Oriental sym- 
bol, 258 ; Jewish Kabbalah on, 
276, 279, 282, 284 ; Sacerdotal 
atonement, 314, 326; Jesus of 
Nazareth on the fountain of, 325, 
327. 

Education, National, Denominational 
obstacles, 122, 124. 

Egypt, The Marvels of, A riddle in- 
terpreted, 237. 

F. 

Faith, Caricatured in modern creeds, 
9, 308 ; Jesus Christ's definition, 
303, 305 ; Mr. G. J. Holyoake on 
current theologies, 302 ; An educa- 
tional process, 309. 

Faraday, Professor, On the forces of 
matter, 34 ; Gravitation, 184, 

Free Will, Jeremiah on, 71 : A.postle 
Peter, 78 ; Human cerebration, 82, 
83 ; Professor Newman, 86 ; Jona- 
than Edward's Essay, 89 ; Rev. R. 
B. Drummond, 100 ; Statistical re- 
turns, 114; Chaos in social life, 
116 ; Ecclesiastes on, 212. 

Feudal Institutions, 147, 174. 

Fetichism, In sacerdotal systems, 8, 
162. 

Female Element, Hypothesis of its 
superiority in the cosmos, 25 ; 
Kabbalah on, 279. 

Fish, Simon, Pamphlet from Gray's 
Inn, 171. 

Foetal Life, Man's condition in the 



cosmos, 24, 73, 82, 341; Job on 
192. 

Force, Imponderable, Not separable 
from matter, 21. 34. 64; Professor 
Smee on the monogenesis of, 182 ; 
Omnipresence of, 184 ; Dr. <^harpe 
on, 311. 

Future, Extracts from the, on a cos- 
mical debate, 23. 

G. 

Gestation, Cosmical process of growth 
and development, 15, 342. 

Geology, Creation in Genesis, 37 ; Pro- 
fessor B. Powell on its evidence, 57. 

Great Britain, Characteristics of, in 
1848, 174 ; Modern Tyre, 232 ; The 
commercial empire of Ephraim's 
descendants, 234, 236, 243 ; Vision 
of Nahum the Elkoshite, 241. 

Guy, Dr., On statistical returns, 113. 

H. 

Hamilton, Sir W., On human know- 
ledge conditioned, 60, 83 ; Logic, 
62 ; On human consciousness, 103 } 
107. 

Heaven, Change in condition of exist- 
ence, 79. 

Herald, Melbourne, Australian News- 
paper, 124. 

Hell, The grave or bottomless pit, 
69, 346 ; Job on, 71 ; Sacerdotal 
perversion of scripture, 75, 79 ; The 
Apostle Paul on, 77 ; Peter and 
Jude on, 78; Bible doctrine, 80; 
Kabbalistic theoiy, 279. 

Hieroglyphic Pictures, Apocalyptic 
portrait of Satan, 11; Death's 
dragoons, 117 ; British state church, 
152; The bottomless pit, 346; 
Judgment day, 356. 

Holyoake, G. J, On atheism as a 
logical system, 86 ; Trial of Theism, 
92 ; Christ's faith, 302. 

Hogarth, W., Satirical sketch, 117. 

Hue, Abbe, Travels in China, 249; 
on Laotze, 262 ; Buddhist prayers, 
264; On atheism, 265; Chinese 
scepticism, 268. 



360 



INDEX. 



I 

Images, In European churches, 164. 

Isaiah, Or the Bible as sealed up, 33 ; 
Man's condition, 71, 80 ; On prayer 
to Deity, 89 ; Ruin of modern Tyre, 
233 ; The Messiah, 293, 300. 

Intemperance, The drink demon, 132. 

Infinite, The, Transcends human 
cognition, 59 ; Relatively known, 
63: Self-sacrifice of Deity, 303, 
353. 

Idolatry, Hebrew prophets on, 9 ; In 
European theism, 160, 166. 

Immortality, Must rest on a material 
basis, 21,33, 197,319; Isaac Taylor 
on, 32; The ladder of, 11; Dr- 
Morell on, 65 ; Ecclcsiastes, 67 ; 
Hebrew psalms on, 69 ; A free gift 
not a reward, 75, 353; Apostle 
Paul, 78, 226 ; Change in condition 
of existence, 79 ; The prerogative of 
Deity, HI ; Dr. Channing on, 17U ; 
Kabbalifltic theory, 282; Sir K. 
Digby's proof, 333. 

Intuitive Conviction, Hypothesis of, 
110; Professor Baden Powell on, 
111. 

J. 

Jackson, J. W., Cosmical debate on 
creation, 23. 

Jesus of Nazareth, Persecuted by 
Jewish clergy, 1,6; On Jewish claims 
to election of immortality, 48, 74, 
287 ; Significance of resurrection, 
65, 73 ; Debate with Nicodemus, 
73 ; Not the sole revelation of 
Christ in man, 74 ; The testimony 
of John, 75 ; Subject to eternal law, 
87 ; Significance of his trial and 
martyrdom, 88, 314; The Roman 
centurion's witness, 112 ; Dr. Cum- 
ming on, 224 ; His form of prayer, 
265 ; Revelation to John, 293 ; The 
Spurgeonic gospel, 288 ; G. J. 
Holyoake on his faith, 302 ; Jesus' 
definition of faith, 303, 305 ; Para- 
bles, 316, 318; Contrasted with 
Moses, 325, 330 ; The advent of the 
final Son of Ma l, 354. 



Jeremiah, On the freedom of human 
volition, 7 1 ; The fall of modern 
Babylon or Tyre, 235 ; The Messiah, 
300 ; Sacerdotalism, 314. 

Jewish Theologians, Ancient, Bigotry 
and ignorance of, 3, 332 ; Lynch 
law of, 6 ; Hypocrisy and arro- 
gance, 77; The Kabbalah, 273, 
337; The Hagada and Halacha, 
275 ; Dr. Ilillcl and Shammai, 276 ; 
The Sephcr Jczirah and Sohar 
277 ; Talmud, 285.; Self-deception, 
317, 332. 

Job, On man's destiny, 71 ; The pro- 
blem of evil, 190, 193 ; A predic- 
tive as well as an historical narra- 
tive, 297. 

K. 

Kabbalah, The, 273, 277. 

Kings, British, James I, his royal 

Bible and Prayer Book, 154 ; Henry 

VIII and his toadies, 148 ; Simon 

Fisk's pamphlet, 173. 
King of kings and Lord of lords, 

An ancient royal title, 250. 

L. 

Law, Rev. R. B. Drummond on cos- 
mical phenomena, 102; George 
Combe's definition, 112; Sacerdo- 
tal theory, 208, 276 ; Sinaitic code, 

323. 

Laotze, Ancient Chinese philoso- 
pher, M. Abel Remusat on, 262. 

Low Literature, Heath's pale horsed 
dragoons, 123. 

Lucifer, The symbol of man, 48. 

M. 

Maine Liquor Law, Illustrated, 134. 

Mackay, Dr. Charles, On the power 
of the press, 117. 

Manichean War, Sacerdotal postulate 
of, 14, 274, 284. 

Man, A foetal growth, 24, 82 ; EccJe- 
siastes on condition of, 66 ; Psalms 
on, 70; Job on destiny of, 71; 
Jesus of Nazareth on, 73 ; self-con- 
sciousness, 106 ; Dr. Sharpe on the 
constitution of, 311 ; Oriental tradi- 
tion, 339. 



INDEX. 



361 



Matter, An unconditioned existence, 
16 ; Not separable from force, 19, 
21, 34, 312 ; Human cognition of, 
83 , Dr. Channing on, 180 ; Inces- 
sant mutation, 186 ; Professor 
Faraday on the force of, 34 ; Dr. 
Cumming's theory, 216, 224 ; Kab- 
balistic speculations, 279, 282. 

Mahomet, Not the predicted incarna- 
tion of false prophecy, 200. 

Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, 2; 
Zechariah's prediction, 229 ; s The 
final advent, 231 ; Joseph's dreams 
and Jacob's legacy, 292; Predic- 
tion of Hebrew seers, 292, 295; 
Ephraim's inheritance, 292, 294, 
296; Witness of Job, 297; The 
prodigal son, 298, 299. 

Miracles, Use and influence of, 129 ; 
Dr. Cumming on, 207. 

Mind, The Human, not an absolute 
entity per se, 22, 103, 110 ; The fall 
of Babylon, 66; Hebrew psalms 
on, 69 ; Job on, 71 ; Jesus of Naza- 
reth on, 73 ; Isaiah on, 80 ; Keflex 
action of Cosmical vibration, 82 ; 
Isaac Taylor on inscrutability, 91 ; 
Dr. Moore on insanity, 106 ; Sir W. 
Hamilton on its evidence, 107 ; 
Ecclesiastes on, 212 ; Homoeopathic 
diagnosis, 311; Genesis on, 313; 
Jesus Christ on the fountain of evil, 
327 

Moses, Revelation of Deity in, as 
his Christ, 188 ; Jewish rabbins 
on, 273 ; Mission to the Israelites 
in Egypt, 321, 324. 

Mosaic Law, Abrogated by Jesus of 
Nazareth, 4, ,319 ; No part of the 
eternal word of life, 323. 

Morell, Dr., On immaterialism, 65. 

Moore, Dr., On morbid consciousness, 
106. 

Muscular Christianity, In settling 
disputes, 104; Dr. Cumming on 
physical omnipotence, 207. 

N. 

Napoleon III, The Emperor, The 
marvels of Egypt at Cherbourg,237. 



Nahum, Vision of the fall of modern 

Nineveh, 241. 
Newman, Professor, On the basis of 

religion, 86. 
Necessarian Philosophy, Atheism a 

logical system, 86 ; Occasional 

Essays by G T., 92 ; Not negative 

of true morality, 195. 
Nicodemus, The Rabbi, Debate with 

Jesus Christ, 73. 
Nicene Church, The, Rev. J. White 

on, 170. 
Novels, Theological, 40. 

P. 

Paul, The Apostle, On man's destiny 
and resurrection, 223, 226. 

Paternity Divine, Veiled in material 
formative processes, 15. 

Prayer to Deity, Emerson's theory, 
10 : Isaiah's prophecy, 89 ; Abbe 
Hue on Buddhism, 264 ; The Lord's 
prayer, 265 ; Petition of the Chinese 
Emperor, 266 ; Masses for the dead, 
268. 

Psalms, The Hebrew, Man's destiny, 

69 ; On the Messiah, 293, 296, 299. 
Plato, A disciple of Laotze rather 

than of Socrates, 263. 
Predestination, Jonathan Edwards 

on, 90; Necessarian philosophy, 

93. 

Personality, Material, Begotten of 
two unconditioned entities, 34; 
Jewish tradition, 277, 283 ; Neces- 
sary for immortality, 319. 

Peter, The Apostle, On eternal pun- 
ishment, 78. 

Philo, System of theology, 274. 

Probabilities, Logical, Locke on, 
61 ; Infinite attributes of Deity, 
63. 

Pontius Pilate, 6. 

Powell, Professor Baden, Philosophy 

of creation, 55 ; On intuitions, 111 ; 

The vestiges of creation, 340. 
Protestant Assemblies, In Australia, 

121 ; Sectarianism in England, 105. 
Punishment Eternal, The grave of 

hell, 69, 346 ; Sacerdotal perversion 



362 



INDEX. 



of the Bible, 75, 218 ; The apostle 
Paul on, 77 ; Peter and Jude on, 
78; Eternal annihilation, 80, 217, 
354; Sin rewarded by death, 196; 
Dr. dimming on, 218 ; Kabbalistic 
theory, 285; Sir Thomas Browne 
on, 337. 

Pugin, On ecclesiastical ornamenta- 
tion, 160. 

R 

Remusat, Abel, on Taosze philos- 
ophy, 262. 

Regeneration, Cosmical, 24; Jesus 
Christ's debate with Nicodemus, 
73 ; Sacerdotal and Cosmical 
theories contrasted, 225. 

Revelation of Deity, In the person- 
ality of the time begotten, 30, 35 ; 
Negative and relative, 61, 63, 109, 
187 ; Locke on, 200 ; Dr. Cumming 
on the difficulties of, 201 ; Kabba- 
listic theory, 283. 

Religion, Dr. Channing's definition, 
85 ; In civilization, 98 ; Sacerdo- 
talism a rotten basis, 101 ; Dr. 
dimming on, 213; Mr. Holyoake 
on Jesus Christ's faith, 302. 

Resurrection, The, Hebrew psalms 
on, 69 ; Job on, 71 ; Sacerdotal 
perversion of scriptures, 75, 79 ; 
Dr. Cumming's biblical commen- 
tary, 216, 221, 225, 227; Jewish 
tradition, 282. 

S. 

Sakya, Biography of, a caricature, 
256 : Not the author of Buddhism, 
259; Significance of "Nibban," 
261. 

Sabbath, The, An Australian judge 
upon secularism, 128. 

Statistics, Dr. Guy on, 113; Cases in 
the police court, 135. 

Saeerdotalism, Contest with cosmism } 
8, 14, 339 ; Seals up the Bible, 31 ;' 
Tree of good and evil in Eden, 35, 
51 : Mystical Babylon, 66 ; Perver- 
sion of scripture, 75, 79, 206, 210, 
217, 222, 224; Deification of evil, 
176; Ignorance of natural law, 



183 ; Wisdom of Elihu the Buzite, 
190 ; Oriental deluge, 255 ; Jewish 
tradition in Kabbalistic books, 
273, 275, 281, 286 : Vicarious atone- 
ment, 311, 320. 
Satan, Self-worship, 9, 99, 105, 189, 
300; Hieroglyphic portrait of, in 
the Apocalypse, 11 ; Baron Bunsen 
on, 10 ; Not one of the fallen mes- 
sengers of God, 47 ; The mark of, 
48; Kabbalistic theory, 280; Rev. 
C. H. Spurgeon on the dragon, 289, 
291. 

Sbarpe, Dr., On the human constitu- 
tion, 311. 

Self-Sacrifice, Bunsen on Deity's exist- 
ence, 10 : Jesus' martyrdom, 88 ; 
Office of a true priest, 189; Attri - 
butes of Deity, 303, 353. 

Sectarianism, Negative of Deity's omni- 
presence, 7 ; A colonial specimen, 
121 ; A bar to national education, 
122; Caricatured, 101; Ancient 
Jewish bigotry, 27G ; Negative of 
vital faith, 302, Conflicting doctrines, 
316. 

Species, Origin of, 58, 344; Professor 
Agassiz on, 341 . 

Serpent The, Tempter in Eden, 35 ; 
Dr. Adam Clarke's comments, 45 ; 
Oriental astronomical mythology, 48 ; 
Ecclesiastes on the riddle, 47 ; The 
apostle James on, 49 ; Cursed at the 
fall, 53 ; Rev. C. H. Spurgeon on 
Christ's victory, 291. 

Smee, Professor, On the monogenesis of 
force, 182. 

Spinoza, Philosophy of the Infinite, 59 ; 
Baron Bunsen on, 60. 

Spirit, A term of negative value, 21. 

Sphinx, Enigmas of the. Mystical num- 
ber ot the beast, 11 ; The tower of 
Babel, 38 ; The ladder of immortality, 
43 ; The serpent riddle, 45 ; Tree of 
knowledge of good and evil, 51 ; The 
Apocalyptic champions, 117 ; Repeti- 
tion of Egyptian wonders at Cher- 
bourg, 237 ; The fall of modern Tyre, 
233: The final Messiah, 292, 295, 
297, 299. 



INDEX. 



363 



Swift Dean, On criticism, 340 ; The 

day of judgment, 347. 
Socrates, On infinite multiplicity in 

unity, 17- 

Son of Man, The, Jesus of Nazareth, 
76; Final advent, 231, 293, 296, 350. 

Sodom and Gomorrah, Judgment on, 
13. 

Suicides, In civilized life, 120 ; Punish- 
ment of self- worshippers, 189. 

Spurgeon, Eev. C. H., Character and 
office of Christ, 288, 290. 

T. 

Taylor, Isaac, World of Mind, 32 ; 

Logic in theology, 70, 89. 
Tree of Life, In paradise, 49. 
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, 

Eev. H. Christmas on, 50 ; Job's 

comforting friends on, 190 ; Jesus 

Christ's onslaught on, 327. 
Theology, Conventional, Perversion of 

Bible teaching, 75; Jesus Christ's 

denunciation of, 77, 331. 
Time, Conditioned force, 20, 21, 186, 

261, 343. 

Trinity, The, Cardinal Bellarmine's 
dictum, 168; Dr. Cumming on, 202 ; 
Ancient form of, 257 ; Cosmopolitan 



creed, 263; Oriental and Jewish 
tradition, 273. 
Tyre, Modern, Isaiah's prediction, 233 ; 
Jeremiah on, 235 ; Ezekiel on, 235 ; 
The report concerning Egypt, 238 : 
The vision of Nahum, 241 ; Hebrew 
seer's prediction, 243. 

U 

Unity, Infinite, In infinite multiplicity 

of Relation, 16. 
United States of America, Demagogism 

the bane of, 142. 

Y. 

Vestiges of Creation, The, 339. 
W. 

Wells, A commentary on the Eccle- 
siastes, 67. 

White, Eev. James, Eighteen Christian 
centuries, 170. 

White Horse, Hieroglyphic in the 
Apocalypse, 117 ; Eev. C. H. Spur- 
geon' s exegesis, 288. 

Wilson, Et. Hon. James, On capital 
currency and banking, 140. 

Wilson, Professor George, On Astral 
influences, 343. 



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